A dental student named Nithin Raj has died at a college in Kannur (a district in the southern Indian state of Kerala), with his parents alleging that faculty members subjected him to caste-based discrimination and bias over his skin tone. The case has drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum, including the ruling CPI(M) party, the opposition Congress, and multiple student organisations, all of whom have called for a thorough investigation. The incident has reignited concerns about the persistence of caste prejudice within Indian academic institutions.