A few days after some students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay protested against the designated “veg-only” tables by one of the mess councils, the institute has imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on one of the students and launched an enquiry to identify two other individuals who are suspected to be a part of the protest.
“This act was a premeditated attempt to disrupt the peace and harmony within the mess, in defiance of the advice provided by the Associate Dean SA (Students’ Affairs)…” states the minutes of the mess council meeting of hostel 12, 13 and 14 held online on October 1, at which the decision to impose the fine was also taken.
The mess council had a meeting with the wardens and associate wardens of the respective hostels to discuss the complaints about unruly behaviour and flouting of mess rules by a few students during dinner on September 28, a day after the declaration of designated ‘veg-only’ space by the mess council. The three hostels share a combined mess.
On September 27, the mess council of hostels 12, 13 and 14 had sent an email to all its residents informing about designated veg-only space in their combined mess. Compliance is crucial, it said, noting that any violation identified by mess team (Council) will attract proper action and imposition of appropriate penalties.
“Such violations will also be considered in disciplinary action, as they disrupt the harmony, we aim to maintain in our dining facilities,” said an email sent on Wednesday by the Mess Council to the students of hostels 12, 13 and 14, as per news agency PTI.
“Our primary goal is to ensure that every resident enjoys a very comfortable and pleasant dining experience. To address this and create a more inclusive environment, it has been decided to designate only six tables exclusively for vegetarian food,” the email said.
However, a day later, a few students had protested during dinner and ate non-vegetarian food at one of the six tables, which caused uproar.
“The mess council resolved to enlist the support of student representatives from the Hostel 12, 13 and 14 councils to assist in identifying the other two individuals involved in the incident. Once their identities are established, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against them as well,” the minutes of the meeting further added.
Meanwhile, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, an informal students’ collective from the campus, shared the minutes of the meeting and said in a post on X, “We condemn this tyrannical decision of the admin and urge to reverse the regressive policy immediately.”
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