The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has postponed a highly anticipated panel discussion titled "What It Takes: Re-making the Workplace (Or, How Bhanwari Devi Changed Our World)," initially scheduled for January 4.
The decision has drawn sharp criticism from the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a student collective that has called the move an attack on campus democracy and academic freedom.
In a public statement, APPSC IIT Bombay condemned the postponement, questioning, "Who is afraid of gender justice?" The student body voiced its concerns over the cancellation, calling it an erosion of academic freedom.
While the administration clarified that the event was merely postponed and not cancelled, no official reason for the delay was provided, and a new date for the discussion has not been announced.
The panel discussion, organised by the Gender Cell, was set to feature key speakers, including Bhanwari Devi, whose struggle in the 1990s led to landmark changes in India's approach to workplace sexual harassment, including the creation of the Vishakha Guidelines, APPSC wrote in its statement.
“The panel would have been a critical intervention amidst the RG Kar Movement, supporting the resurgence of women’s activism. We remind the administration that the event adhered to procedural guidelines. Its abrupt cancellation, despite suggested revisions, signals an alarming suppression of discourse on caste and gender equity,” the student group further said.
The panel sought to address pressing contemporary issues, such as the increasing violence against women and the struggles faced by women activists in India, from incidents like Unnao and Hathras to the protests by women wrestlers.
APPSC emphasised that the event adhered to all procedural guidelines. However, its cancellation, despite suggested revisions, raised alarms about the suppression of dialogue on caste and gender equity at the institution.
