IIT-Bombay protester fined Rs 10,000 for eating non-vegetarian food at ‘veg-only’ table | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The mess council of hostels 12, 13 and 14 at IIT-Bombay has decided to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 on a student for ‘unruly behaviour’ and for ‘flouting the mess norms’. The student, along with two others, ate non-vegetarian food in the designated space for vegetarian food on Thursday, to protest against the segregation of eating places in the mess.
While one student from Hostel 12 has been fined, disciplinary action will also be initiated against two others, once they are identified, mentioned the minutes passed by the council. The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, a students’ collective on the campus has in a social media post likened the action of the hostel administration to that of ‘a Khap Panchayat acting to uphold untouchability in modern times.’ The council meeting, attended by four professors, including the warden, and three student representatives, was held on Sunday to discuss the ‘unruly behaviour’ and ‘flouting of mess rules’ by a few students. The minutes of the resolution mentioned that based on the evidence available, it was found that the said student deliberately created a scene during dinner on September 28.
“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 of student affairs,” it said. The council also sought help from students’ representatives from the three hostels to identify the other two students. It further urged students to co-operate in order to maintain a cordial and peaceful atmosphere within the mess. The said students were protesting the mess council’s decision to set aside six tables for eating vegetarian food in the common mess of the three hostels. The decision was informed to the students last week, which raised concerns of discrimination on campus. Three to four students decided to eat meat in the designated place in a protest they termed as ‘individual civil disobedience’. A few others, with vegetarian food, joined them in solidarity. The APPSC is planning to protest the council’s decision to impose a penalty.