Ideal Supervisors: the good, the bad and the truth

"The best teacher is one who is genuinely excited by learning not just transmitting facts, but inspiring curiosity." - Richard Feynman

Imagine that you've finally done something you've always wanted to, like winning a race you've been preparing for since childhood, aced your career when nobody believed in you, and maybe climbed Mount Everest, which is impossible for everyone to do. Yayyy!! So now you turn around to call the people you love, the ones who always stuck by you or the good old teacher who laid the foundation of it all. A teacher/guide is extremely monumental is shaping life, with every effort, the results compound into a brighter future. likewise, a bad guide/teacher is also a grave affecter of all things life. stalling the general progress or even delaying what should have been. Any negative through someone who is supposed to foster you, does not always have a silver lining.

Through this, some suggestions on choosing the apt guide/lab/teacher can be inferred. while life is very subjective for everyone, with just that 0.001% difference in DNA, we do have different needs, priorities and preferences. still, there are bare minimum and decent pointers one must look after.

Academia is a lonely sector, especially if you are into research a lot of days can just past by, without you being noticed by others. This solitude brings in an important need for empathy, care, regular outings, hobbies, aim based work and definitely a good culture between you and the peers.

while digging into the concerned matter, a lot of atrocious cases have stood out from Indian academic institutions: (tap to be redirected into the original article.)

So what's a good guide like (the bare minimum good):

Qualities of a Good PhD/MSc Supervisor

Mentorship over power: they guide academic independence, support student‑led ideas, and assign fair credit.
Respectful interaction: avoiding coercion, petty tasks unrelated to research, or personal exploitation.
Clear communication and boundaries: setting realistic expectations, timelines, and feedback.
Sensitivity to mental health: acknowledging stress, encouraging breaks, and directing students to counseling.
Transparency and fairness: no favoritism or discrimination based on caste, gender, personal background, or identity.
Accountability: willing to engage in structured oversight, committee review, or external mediation.

Things you should definitely avoid in a PhD/MSc Supervisor

The Mr. Publication machine: Publish or perish has been a major point but perishing your ethics and students' wellbeing in the name of publication is an alarming case.
The Sexual Predator: Like every other setting, academia is also filled with some filth, who honeytrap students for the dividends and exploit their personal lives with their unprofessional demands and indulgence.
Exploitative Taskmaster: Uses students for personal or non-academic work.
Manipulative Narcissist: Takes credit, craves control, and undermines students.
The Mute and Ghost Supervisor: Is absent, unresponsive, and provides no real guidance.
Biased & Discriminatory: Favors certain students based on identity or background.
Controlling Intruder: Invades privacy and creates toxic emotional dependency.

so what's the takeaway?

How to make sure of the Pros and cons:

Lab website if any
Alumni review
Reach out to Lab seniors and PhD scholars
May observe and talk to them before joining for clear communication

Solution:

UGC Complaint Rules

Every university must have a Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC).
Students can appeal to the Ombudsperson if not satisfied.
Complaints must be resolved within 15 days.
Covers academic harassment, delay in thesis, unfair treatment.
Protects student authorship and intellectual property (UGC 2018).
UGC 2022 guidelines require mental health support on campus.

ICC (Internal Complaints Committee)

Mandatory under the POSH Act for all institutions.
Handles sexual harassment and hostile gender-based environments.
Must include women majority and one external expert.
Complaint resolution deadline: 90 days.
Ensures confidentiality, no retaliation, and interim relief options

Any oppression tolerated is delayed into the normalcy and right track of life. As humans and especially Indians, we are groomed and lectured to always look at the bigger picture. Sometimes, this pushes us into the habit of bearing torturous things. Just because in the end, 'it's for the greater good'. stats suggest that bearing through such a process invites mental health struggles and may persist as lifelong trauma.

One must argue, 'Why stand out in a system that punishes the victim?'. To be very fair and logical, yes, the average trend dictates what's tolerable and what's not but what it should not dictate is your self-respect. Choosing the 'right' may be a dream for many, for a lot of us it works out fine but in case of 'oh no', one must always fight back. Education is training for real-world problems, though you may never use your quadratic equation or cell line transfection study in daily life, but the approach to handling problems will.

A lot of us like me were fortunate to have good, caring PIs. Some within us are not. This is for them. choose wisely. Also be the honest you expect others to be :)

Ps: This written purely as an opinion, any resemblance based target is not intended. In case of dispute, write to us, Stats and references are are cited as link, tap to be redirected into the original article.

watch it here for something very cool: Prof Balaram on life

You can reach out for making your story more visible by writing to these teams:

phdsofindia@gmail.com!- they write about peronal stories

airsa.india2018@gmail.com- they are into grievences

Hopefully this helped, no matter how young, every life has wisdom and it should be respected. The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion and surely, wherever there is power, there's resistance.

For the love of Science