IIT Bombay student 'suicide': Student groups present list of demands on 'caste discrimination' in institute

Mumbai: In the wake of the alleged suicide of Darshan Solanki, a Dalit student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, three student groups on campus have presented a number of demands to address caste discrimination at the premier institute.

The student groups, namely Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle, Ambedkarite Students' Collective and Datsak, have asked the institute to conduct an 'independent' investigation into the tragic incident of Solanki reportedly jumping to his death from his hostel building. The list of demands also includes an open house meeting to discuss 'structural' changes at the institute, listing of discriminatory pratcices and implementation of reservation policies in faculty recruitment and admissions.

The demands come days after Solanki, a first-year BTech (Chemical Engineering) student from Ahmedabad, on Sunday allegedly took his own life at the premier institute. Darshan's family members have since alleged caste-discrimination and a special investigation team (SIT) probe into the incident. The institute, however, has cautioned against attributing the tragic incident to any caste discrimination.

While a day after the alleged suicide, IIT Bombay constituted a probe panel, the protesting students want at least half of the committee members to belong to the scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) communities, while also demanding the committee to have an SC/ST head as well as an external expert. They have called for the committee proceedings to be made public.

The students have also demanded that the institute's SC/ST Cell must be set up according to the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, while seeking a mentorship programme exclusive for SC/ST students.

"We reiterate that IIT Bombay has failed to act on most of the demands that we as a student group have been asking for past years, especially our demand for SC/ST counselors and the approval of SC/ST Students Cell Mandate. The presence of an inadequate cell without the provisions of UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations 2012 was brought to the notice of the director repeatedly in recent semesters. The lethargic attitude shown by the administration is evident and finally resulted in a grave incident once again from which none of us can come back," read a letter submitted by the student groups to the institute.

Among other demands, students have also asked for making public the findings of AK Suresh Committee, which was formed after the suicide of IIT Bombay student Aniket Ambhore in 2014.