Recently, emails were sent by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay regarding reserving tables in the hostel mess for vegetarians. This instantly led to allegations of "food-based discrimination" between vegetarians and non-vegetarians. First, it was IIT Bombay which made headlines and soon, IIT Hyderabad followed in its footsteps.
EdexLive spoke to students from various IITs who shared instances of individual suffering and institutional imposition. Whether it is by asking non-vegetarian students to sit separately while having non-vegetarian food, segregating the mess facilities or the complications among friends, the students share their woes on the condition of anonymity.
IIT Bombay
"The segregation of eating spaces based on the idea of purity and contamination has been an unspoken rule at IITs. In IIT Bombay, there are circular plates at a few hostel messes which are only for vegetarians which non-vegetarians are not supposed to use," shared a student. Adding more, the student said, "Even though the institute responded to an RTI (Right to Information) saying that there is no policy regarding food-based segregation, students who eat meat are routinely harassed, humiliated and made to leave certain areas in the mess."
"The institutional support for this casteist practice which promotes the alleged superiority of vegetarians and this creation of a 'pure space' is akin to modern-day untouchability where the mere presence or even the very sight of meat-eating students can disrupt their serenity," the students said.
Furthermore, the student opines that the imposition of fines for protesting against this rule is clearly a sign for the Dalit and other students hailing from reserved categories that even though they are studying on the campus, the campus spaces do not truly belong to them.
IIT Delhi
Sharing about the facilities in the hostel mess, a student and an APPSC (Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle) IIT Delhi member, alleged, "Non-vegetarian food is not mentioned on the menu. However, students get it from backdoors."
When asked if this has been reported to the officials or faculty, the students claimed, "Even professors are extremely intolerant about it and say that we have to respect vegetarians."
Sharing thoughts on separation based on food, the student said, "The notion is that a vegetarian diet is the ideal way to be. Because of this, it feels weird how it works because someone has to compromise and it is always the non-vegetarians who compromise."
The student further stressed, "Anyway when it comes to our generation, most are not pure vegetarians. Few vegetarians in my circle choose to eat when they want. It seems like being vegetarian is only to show supremacy."
IIT Kanpur
Reacting to the incident at IIT Bombay, the student said, "IIT Bombay students are supported by the administration, therefore, vegetarian separation is being encouraged. This type of practice is first implemented in top-ranked IITs and later, in other IITs. I am sure this will definitely happen at IIT Kanpur as well."
Disclosing details about similar situations in IIT Kanpur, the student said, "One table was reserved only for vegetarian students. Though this decision was not taken by the institute authority and students are also not very rigid about it."
While narrating another incident with regard to the matter, the student said, "In 2022, the Hostel Kitchen Committee tried to maintain separate utensils but after receiving backlash, the administration didn't follow it. So, we don't have separate utensils."
Sharing personal experiences from the days he started out at the IIT, the student shared that upon bringing non-vegetarian food for lunch, the student was allegedly asked by friends to sit separately. "I did not feel very good. It felt like someone was criminalising my food choices."
"I felt separated from the normal circle and it made me feel I was doing something wrong and eating something which was deemed bad or impure," the student said adding that with time, friends have also become accepting.
IIT Madras
"Last semester, the segregation notice became an issue in the IIT Bombay. When asked, the institute denied it. The fact of the matter is in the IITs system, this issue has been like this unofficially. The only difference now is that they made it official," alleges an IIT Madras student.
Further, highlighting the incidents that the students have experienced with regard to food-based separation, the student alleged, "IIT Madras has a jain mess and it has been there for five years. Following recurring demands of the students, a non-veg mess was started this semester."
Even though Jain food is preferred by only 1% of the students at IIT Madras as the majority prefer non-veg, Jain mess has been there for many years. And now IIT Madras has three messes: Jain, Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian mess," the student alleged.
Sharing one of the incidents the student experienced, the student said, "A year back, a student emailed to the authorities stating a strand of non-veg noodles touched veg-noodles while serving the food he ordered."
"In fact, once, after I finished my non-veg lunch on a common table in a lab. After which, staff and students requested me not to eat non-veg on that table in the future," he shared by adding that previously, mostly upper caste individuals used to join IITs and "Now, I guess these issues will keep happening until more non-vegetarians join the institutions," the student opines.
Reconfirming that in the present times, there has been no segregation of veg and non-veg at IIT Madras, the student said, "If such situations arise among friends who are on good terms, then the issue can be resolved. But when the institution issues such notices, it creates problems as friends are being separated on these terms."
On the whole, as per the students, every one of them has experienced their own struggles. From non-vegetarians being asked to sit separately while having non-veg food to vegetarians feeling uncomfortable when others are having non-veg food around them.
However, as long as it is among known circles, it is accepted but once it reaches the higher authority, the matter turns into an issue. How can one strike a balance between the two situations?
