A group of students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi had assembled today, Monday, February 19, for a 'silent protest' outside the institute's Dogra Hall, where a condolence meeting was organised by the administration in the wake of the recent suicide of MTech student Varad Sanjay Nerkar on Thursday, February 15.
The students' group also allegedly gheraoed Prof Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi and other officials to direct attention towards their immediate demands, which are:
1) An observance of a day off to give time to every student and official as to why such incidents continue to happen. It is to be noted that this is the fifth incident in IITs in 1.5 months and the fourth incident to be reported in a year at IIT Delhi.
2) Setting up an Enquiry Committee to investigate the cause behind Varad's alleged suicide, which also includes investigating the accusations levelled against Varad's guide, and promptly responding to the findings with the initiation of proper action.
3) An Open House to be conducted for all the postgraduate (PG) students without any delay and properly addressing the problem of continuous harassment by the guides assigned and the other faculty members.
4) Disclosing the findings of the previous enquiries as had been promised to the students by the institute regarding the death of Ayush Ashna, Anil Kumar, and Pranav Jain, and the measures that have been taken to address the suicides taking place at IIT Delhi.
Students silently protested
According to a student, who was a part of the ongoing agitation, the students had decided to silently protest and convey their demands to the director and other officials present. The student, on the condition of anonymity, said, "After a moment of silence was observed by the assemblage of people, we held our placards and posters in a silent protest reprimanding the way these situations are being dealt with by the institution."
The student also critiqued the nature of these meetings, as they collectively think that these are becoming a "mechanistic routine" where the deceased is hailed as a good student.
"This has become a mechanistic routine but this is the time to act. We had gheraoed the director initially but the response was unsatisfactory in nature," said the protesting student. They further informed EdexLive that the students had decided to move outside of the director's office to make their demands clear, with posters and a silent protest.
Some of the posters read, "IIT - Indian Institute of Tragedies", and others such as "Meritocracy killed Varad", and "I have not come here to Die..."
Director addressed students
Allegedly, the director soon met the students and assured them of an open house meeting, seeking the presence of the students, and after further deliberations, the director informed the students that a meeting would be arranged with the faculties of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
As per an initial official press release from the institution, the deceased's room was locked from the inside. The cause behind his death is still unknown.
