The recent controversy at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay over certain tables in the hostel mess being designated as vegetarian-only has only escalated. On Monday night, October 23, the official student media body of the institute, called Insight, published a report on the issue, prompting more discussions.
The students allege that segregating tables in the mess based on food preferences is discriminatory. According to the report, personal preferences should not be given to the creation of exclusive spaces in the name of inclusivity, when the hostel mess is already inclusive in nature, having the provision for Jain food, and the availability of meals at dawn during Ramzan, to give a few examples.
Insight further raised the concern that the administration sanctioning such a practice might invite more students with certain other preferences to demand separate spaces on the campus, and soon, a wave of demands would come forward. This may also compromise the integrity of hostel elections, as candidates may promise to segregate common areas based on personal preferences to garner votes from specific student communities, thereby, intensifying polarisation during student elections.
Previously, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), an independent student body at IIT Bombay, had raised its voice against seat segregation in the mess of Hostels 12, 13 and 14. A protest also erupted over the issue, and subsequently, on September 30, the mess council decided to officially designate six tables in the mess as "veg-only". The students were conveyed this decision via email.
