Addressing the allegations that a separate mess for vegetarians, exclusive to the first years, exists on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, the institute shared an official comment on the matter with EdexLive.
The institute stated that while there does exist a vegetarian-only mess on the campus, first-year students have the option to change their choice of mess.
The issue arose when the students of IIT Mandi received an email from the management, stating that the vegetarian-only mess on campus is to be used exclusively by the upcoming batch of first-year students and that the rest of the college is not allowed to eat in that mess. This move, coupled with the director’s recent comments on eating meat, raised a few eyebrows among the students.
When EdexLive reached out to the institute for a comment on the issue, it said that the mess was assigned exclusively for the first-year students “to give them an opportunity to connect with each other and build new connections.”
As for the vegetarian-only mess, the institute says that the mess was set up “after receiving multiple requests from current students.”
It goes on to say that, “the same mess was designated to the freshers for the initial period until the admissions and orientation process was in progress.”
“Considering the orientation process is now complete, an option to change the mess and connect with their seniors has been made available to the first-year students,” the institute further adds.
Recently, the Director of IIT Mandi, Laxmidhar Behera, came under fire for claiming that “butchering innocent animals” and consuming their meat leads to natural disasters like landslides, cloud bursts, and more. The video of the same has been doing the rounds of social media.
Forced vegetarianism, a recurring trend at IITs?
This is not the first instance where students were segregated based on food.
On July 29, at IIT Bombay, posters disallowing “non-vegetarians” to sit in the canteen were spotted by students. Students of IIT Bombay, as well as people on social media, slammed the posters, calling them discriminatory.
Eventually, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), IIT Bombay, filed a Right to Information (RTI) application, seeking information on how many hostels in IIT Bombay have separate mess spaces where non-vegetarian students are not allowed to consume eggs or meat. Along with that, the RTI also sought information on the penalties imposed on students who bring non-vegetarian food into these spaces.
It was found out in the institute’s reply that there have been no such mandated spaces in the canteens, and that these posters were the acts of individual students.
In IIT Mandi, however, students allege that this segregation is more institutionalised.
