IIT-Bombay Vegetarian Students Face Hostility And Smear Campaign For Being Vegetarians

Within the corridors of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), a science and technology institute that was ranked first in India and 149th in the world as per a recent survey, an unexpected rift has emerged over dinner tables.

A decree by the administration has led vegetarian students, mainly those from the Jain community, to breathe easier.

On 1 October, the administration slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on a PhD student named Abhishek Mali, from the Centre for Policy Studies, for allegedly trying to force students observing strict vegetarianism to witness and smell meat dishes during dinner time.

The action, deemed as “unruly behaviour” by the authorities, was said to disturb the “peace and harmony” of the mess hall, according to an internal investigation accessed by Swarajya (image attached below).

The Centre for Policy Studies itself is relatively new, having been introduced to the 65-year-old institution in 2016. Interestingly, the site of the dining dispute are Hostels 12, 13, and 14 that share a common mess area. These hostels house mainly PhD scholars.

Students who Swarajya spoke to, hailed the penalty on Mali as a pivotal moment in their struggle for establishing a reserved space for vegetarian meals.

Their request? Just six out of the 129 tables in the dining hall.

A student, who is pursuing his PhD in sciences, told Swarajya that a corner of the mess was always an unspoken vegetarian haven — “a place of mutual respect and understanding” — where students could dine without the scent or sight of egg or meat.

While the institute management always allowed them the requested space, some “ideologically driven” students have been harassing them of late in the name of fighting “casteism”.

“Segregated tables have been compared to caste-based discrimination and untouchability. But I completely disagree,” the student said. “I am from a backward caste from Uttar Pradesh, but my family has traditionally abstained from meat. We do not talk about meat when eating. We carry home-cooked food when travelling.”

As per a recent Pew Survey, 44 per cent Hindus, 59 per cent Sikhs and 92 per cent Jains consider themselves vegetarians on all days while overall, 81 per cent of Indians limit their meat consumption in some way — either they are vegetarians, or they avoid meat or certain meats on certain days. The figures make India the most vegetarian country in the world.

In 2014, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD), acting on public representations, wrote to the various IITs across the country to consider the possibility of setting up separate vegetarian canteens. IIT-Bombay decided that the vegetarian corners in its various mess areas sufficed the need.

However, tensions began to simmer in 2020 when ideological confrontations linked to the nationwide stir over the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) started to manifest in IIT-Bombay’s dining spaces, say students.

The bill, which offered to fast-track Indian citizenship for religious minorities fleeing to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh after facing persecution, was opposed by some communist and Islamist groups for not extending the benefit to the majority population of these three Islamic countries. They labelled the bill “anti-Muslim”.

A student from the Jain community told Swarajya that the campus atmosphere changed with those protests. We began to hear terms like ‘Manuwad se azadi’ and ‘Brahminism se azadi’ often,” he said.

“There would be speeches and gatherings at various places in the campus on these topics. Most of these events were organised and attended by students and faculty of Centre for Policy Studies and Humanities and Social Sciences.”

The anti-CAB protesters began to challenge the designated vegetarian areas in the mess, drawing parallels to "Brahminism" and "untouchability". However, the ensuing Covid-19 pandemic and the national lockdown temporarily suspended efforts to modify the dining space.

As the institute reopened and classes recommenced in late 2020, students opted to dine in the privacy of their hostel rooms. However, when the campus became fully operational in 2021, a controversial incident involving a faculty member intensified tensions.

According to the Jain student's account, a professor decided to dine in the vegetarian section while consuming a meat dish. When approached by some students suggesting he move to another area, the professor adamantly told the surrounding diners, "these students are dangerous".

Subsequently, a day later, a few students from the HSS department removed a poster indicating the spot as a 'vegetarian food space', recounted the student.

Although the poster was soon reinstated, the once-peaceful dining area now became a hotbed of tensions and repeated confrontations as students increasingly began bringing their meat dishes to the vegetarian corner.

When inquired why the issue was predominantly restricted to Hostels 12, 13, and 14, and not widespread across other 15-odd mess areas in the campus, the student explained, "Hostels catering to BTech students haven't experienced such conflicts, likely due to their young age and rigorous schedules. Similarly, the women's hostels have remained untouched by such confrontations."

The current disagreement found a trigger in July of this year.

Amidst escalating disputes over table segregation, Hostel 12's general secretary, Abhay Pratap Singh, stirred controversy by informing students via email that opposition to eating meat dishes in the vegetarian section could prompt disciplinary actions by the administration.

This announcement provoked strong reactions, leading students to seek intervention from the Associate Dean (student affairs). Upon reviewing the matter, the official said that bringing meat into the vegetarian space was not advisable.

The next day, a poster surfaced near the vegetarian section, stating, “Vegetarians only are allowed to sit here”.

"That wasn't our doing," said a PhD student to Swarajya. "The tone of this poster was more confrontational compared to its predecessor. It seemed designed to tarnish our image in public."

The controversial poster went viral on social media and was covered by several news outlets as display of “food discrimination”.

Recognising the escalating tension, the authorities removed the controversial poster and instituted a committee to consider officially designating an exclusive area for vegetarian meals.

Meanwhile, some Jain students expressed concerns to the Associate Dean and Director of IIT-Bombay. They highlighted apprehensions that the aggression from certain students might spill over during Paryushan, a revered eight-day festival for Jains.

In this period, that lasted from 12 September to 20 September this year, Jains typically observe rigorous dietary constraints, excluding not only meat but also root vegetables.

The administration made arrangements for those observing Paryushan in a separate dining hall. The Jain student said such an arrangement had been made by the institute for the first time for Jains, even though doing so for the Muslim holy month of Ramzan has been a norm for several years.

Around the same time, several students wrote to the higher education ministry and the minority commission, complaining about increasing harassment of vegetarians and Jains.

They complained about some students purposely leaving egg shells on vegetarian-only tables, and “smearing food ladles of the Jain food counter with meat”.

On 27 September, the Mess Council of Hostels 12, 13 and 14 communicated officially to students that six tables in the canteen were being allocated specifically for vegetarian meals, and those six tables would have a signage reading, “This place is designated for vegetarian food only”.

The communication emphasised that these tables were accessible to any student opting to consume vegetarian food.

The next day, Mali sent an email to Associate Dean (student affairs) that he would protest against the decision by Mess Council by deliberately eating meat at one of those six tables.

The official asked him not to go ahead with his “symbolic protest” as the matter should be sorted through discussions and any form of protest could lead to conflicts.

As we now know, the student went ahead with his plan. Swarajya has also accessed messages sent by him on various WhatsApp groups, urging other students to join him.

“A total of three students joined him,” a student told Swarajya. “Two of them came with an egg dish, while the other two, including Mali, had meat on their plates.”

The letter by the management announcing the fine on Mali states that other individuals involved in the incident were being identified for similar disciplinary action.

The development has led to a sense of relief among those favouring the vegetarian-only space. However, it has also ignited heated debates on platforms like X (previously known as Twitter). One segment is criticising IIT-Bombay's administration, accusing them of promoting ‘Manuwad’.

For instance, the X account of Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), an informal students’ collective on the campus, recently posted, “@iitbombay has imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the students who had stood against the food segregation policy of the institute by a peaceful act of individual civil disobedience.

This action of the admin is similar to a khap panchayat acting to uphold untouchability in modern times. Food segregation can be termed as "inclusive" only by the true followers of Manu who reign in power in the institutes like IIT. "We condemn this tyrannical decision of the admin and urge to reverse the regressive policy immediately.”

Conversely, others are calling for the shutdown of the Humanities and Social Sciences departments at the institute, accusing them of initiating "needless controversies" and diverting from core "scientific endeavours."

Some students told Swarajya that several other IITs such as in Kanpur, Madras, Roorkee and Delhi, were already providing segregated seating or completely vegetarian canteens to students without IIT Bombay-like hostility.

Meanwhile, the institute, attempting to calm the tempest, has called for peace and understanding within its hallowed halls, and warned of disciplinary actions to those disrupting harmony.