‘Vegetarians Only’ Posters Trigger Food Discrimination Row At IIT-Bombay

An IIT-B official claimed that while they had found out about the posters, they did not know who had put them up in the canteen.

Mumbai: A row erupted at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) after “vegetarians only” posters were put up on the walls of a canteen in one of the hostels of the institution. Students have accused the authorities of “food discrimination” after “vegetarians only are allowed to sit here” were seen pasted on the walls of the canteen of hostel 12 at the IIT-B last week.

An IIT-B official claimed that while they had found out about the posters, they did not know who had put them up in the canteen, news agency PTI reported. The official maintained that there are no fixed seats for people consuming different categories of food and the institute is not aware who put up the posters.

Pictures of the posters put up on the canteen walls had gone viral on social media last week.

Meanwhile, representatives of the student collective Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) condemned the incident and tore the posters.

Even though RTIs and mails for hostel GSec shows that there is no institute policy for food segregation, some individuals have taken it upon themselves to designate certain mess areas as "Vegetarians Only" and forcing other students to leave that area.#casteism #Discrimination pic.twitter.com/uFlB4FnHqi

— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) July 29, 2023

“Though RTIs and emails to the hostel’s general secretary revealed that there is no policy for food segregation at the institute, some individuals have taken it upon themselves to designate certain mess areas as vegetarians only’ and force other students to leave that area,” the AAPSC said.

Following the incident, the hostel’s general secretary sent an email to all students saying, “There is a counter for Jain distribution in the hostels mess, but there is no designated sitting space for those who consume Jain food.”

There have been reports of individuals forcefully designating certain areas of the mess as “Jain sitting space” and not allowing individuals who bring non-vegetarian food to sit in those areas, the general secretary wrote.

“Such behaviour is unacceptable and no student has the right to remove another student from any area of the mess on the grounds that it is reserved for a particular community. If any such incident is repeated, we will be forced to take strict action against those involved,” he stated in the email, according to the PTI report.

A similar incident had sparked a massive controversy in 2018 when a circular issued by the IIT-Bombay hostel has asked non-vegetarian students to use separate plates. The circular cited demands from vegetarian students to force students who consume non-veg meals to use separate plates and cutlery.

(With PTI inputs)

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