Video Editor: Deepthi Ramdas
It all started with a satirical Facebook post on 13 December, which said there was a poster in the university mess that stated, ‘This washbasin is for vegetarians only’.
A lot of us saw the post and out of curiosity, went to enquire into what the issue was. We came to know, shockingly, that it is not only the washbasins but the doors that have been segregated as well – there was one entry for vegetarians and one for non-vegetarians.
The posters had been put up near two entrances of the North Indian mess on the second floor of the Himalaya Mess Complex.
We were appalled, because the problem of segregation of vegetarians and non-vegetarians has existed for some time, but this was even more explicit.
How this is managed is that those who eat vegetarian have to sit on the left side and non-vegetarians on the right.
For example, a friend of mine got a coupon for an egg dish and tried to enter through the ‘vegetarian door’ but the mess caterer stopped him from entering, stating that if he entered then “the students will create a problem”.
This system basically means that if I eat a vegetarian dish, I would also like the people sitting next to me on the bench to eat vegetarian (dishes). I feel there is sense of purity of the vegetarian item, and this would clearly fall within the boundary of untouchability.
A fellow friend echoed the sentiment, as he said:
“IIT is trying to be a world-class institute. It was even worried that it missed the ‘Institute of Eminence’ tag. For an institute which tries to better itself towards getting good ranks in world-class listings, to become a true international institute, is this the kind of culture which is allowed and encouraged? We should think on it.”
Within a day, the posters were removed and the Hostel Affairs Secretary Nihal K in an email addressed to students (which are in The Quint’s possession) blamed the caterer for the posters. While delivering assurance about the administration’s equal treatment of all students, he said that action would be initiated once an inquiry is conducted.
(The Quint has sent an email to the Director and the Dean (Administrations and Student) seeking their response. This My Report will be updated if and when they respond.)
(The author is a student from IIT-Madras and wishes to stay anonymous. All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint enquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for them.)
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