Anti-discrimination policies have been released by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) in response to alleged caste-based bias on campus. IIT-Bombay has instructed its students not to inquire about one another’s caste or any other pertinent information, such as their GATE or JEE (Advanced) ranks and scores. Asking about rank may seem to be an attempt to ascertain caste and may create a “stage for discrimination,” according to a set of anti-discrimination rules produced by the school when the incoming class of 2023–24 comes on campus.
The policies were made public months after the murder of a first-year student named Darshan Solanki exposed caste-based intolerance on college campuses. The instructions exhort the new group of students to develop ties with one another despite differences in financial status, religion, or caste. Students are also prohibited from transmitting jokes or remarks that are discriminatory, sexist, casteist, or abusive.
“Asking other students about their JEE (Advanced) rankings, GATE scores, or any other information that might reveal caste or other relevant factors is also inappropriate.” Even though the student asking the question may believe it is benign and is just motivated by curiosity, doing so can often have a negative effect on the other student. Asking could seem like an effort to determine caste and might pave the way for discrimination, the IIT Bombay administration’s rules emphasize.
The institution went a step further and pushed students to form connections based on things like their department, hobbies, sports, music, and movies, or even their schools, universities, hometowns, and villages. Students are also prohibited by the institution from sending or transmitting any jokes or other material that is harassing or bullying, abusive, biased, casteist, sexist, or demonstrates intolerance. Such material shouldn’t be discussed in person or by email or social media platforms like Facebook or WhatsApp.
The administration warned pupils that breaking the rules will result in severe punishments and emphasized that everyone should be polite and respectful of others’ feelings.
While this is going on, a few students have come forward to discuss alleged prejudice in the mess at hostels 12, 13, and 14. They said that vegetarian students had a casually divided area where they were not allowed to sit with non-vegetarians.Posters with the message “Vegetarians only are allowed to sit here” were put up to attract attention to this issue. The IIT Bombay administration, however, denied the information as “not true” and stated that no such discrimination was occurring.