A first at IIT-B: Cancer-hit student gets BTech degree posthumously

Siddarth Dhoke receives the honorary BTech degree for his son Akshay

As he walked into the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) earlier this month, Central Railway employee Siddarth Dhoke was overwhelmed by bittersweet memories of the day he saw his son, Akshay, enter its gates five years ago.

The locomotive driver had arrived from Nagpur to receive a BTech degree conferred posthumously upon Akshay – a first at the premier technical institute.

Akshay had enrolled for the five-year electrical engineering dual degree course with specialisation in microelectronics in 2008. However, Akshay, who had blood cancer , passed away last September, months after appearing for the seventh semester  exam. 

Towards the end of 2011, he had begun complaining of fever and pain in the joints and he was admitted to the campus hospital several times.

“He had taken the seventh semester exam despite being ill. He missed a few papers, though. He was diagnosed with blood cancer in December 2011,” said his father. 

Akshay, however, refused to give up without a fight. He was then moved to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, where he underwent a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy sessions, said his mother, Sarbani. “Initially, he had shown some recovery.”

 Not only did Akshay have a streak of acing his academics – he had ranked 119 in IIT’s joint entrance exam – but had also represented Nagpur in state-level cricket. 

Abhay Karandikar, head of the department of electrical engineering, said Akshay had completed all requirements for the BTech degree. 

“Dual degree students get BTech and MTech certificates after meeting all requirements of the five-year programme. Akshay appeared for the seventh semester exam and had got all credits required for a BTech by then. So, we decided to award his degree posthumously to honour his hard work and talent,” Karandikar said. 

With Akshay’s concern for the poor in mind, his parents have instituted a trust in his name to help those who struggle to pay their fees. “He didn’t apply for any scholarship he was eligible for, as he wanted the money to go to some other needy student,” says Sarbani

 She says his friends had collected Rs5 lakh for his overseas treatment. Since it couldn’t be used, the parents have deposited it in the trust.

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