On 17-02-23, around 3 PM, concerned students from campus, including members representing different student groups, peacefully gathered in front of the main building to submit their grievances and demands to the Director. However, the students were welcomed with hostility with an unusual deployment of security in every nook and corner of the building.
People claiming to be security personnel started videographing students without their permission. When a fellow student later took a video of the gathered students on the premises, the Chief Security Officer took it as an opportunity to create a ruckus and started shouting at the gathered students, claiming it was the students who were creating ‘disturbance.’ To disperse the students, he went on making incongruous statements, saying the space does not belong to students as it is a protected area by virtue of the space belonging to a central government institute.
When the students insisted that they were there to submit their demands to the Director, the CSO, along with deployed personnel for security, stopped the students saying the Director was in a meeting. When the students said they could wait until the meeting was over, the CSO started intimidating the students with his verbal and physical conduct. When the students said they are determined to meet the Director to submit their demands in person, even if the Director’s meeting went on for a while, the CSO threatened that he knows how to ‘ behave’ to a crowd with the power vested with him. The CSO failed to act with restraint and respect and showed he can use his authority to torment the students.
Submitting our concerns to the Director in a peaceful manner is a very basic democratic right of us. The institute seem to be afraid of even we having that much. We condemn this apathetic approach by the administration, even in a dire situation like this, where a student took his life on the institute’s premises. Instead of listening to the students’ concerns, the institute is hiding its head in the sand.
Later in the day the director sent mail giving some ‘updates’ on the ‘untimely death of of Mr. Darshan Solanki’. There was no update in the email about the open house that was promised at the condolence meeting earlier. The mail finally informed officially about the investigation committee constituted by the institute, which has started working already. The mail also has provided an email id to provide information to the committee. The mail is however silent on our demand that an external expert member should also be included in the Committee to ensure a fair investigation. It also did not communicate whether the committee had proper representation of SC ST members.
We reiterate our demand for the open house being conducted as early as possible, as it was promised at the condolence meeting. The academic activities need to be suspended on the day of the open house so that maximum participation is ensured and the students feel encouraged to express their concerns without any fear. The campus needs an open dialogue about the concerns faced by the students and the administration needs to acknowledge this. If the death of one of our fellow students is not enough to make the administration realize that there is something seriously wrong in its approach, then we don’t know what else would be.
We also reiterate our demand that the investigation committee should include an external member to ensure fairness, and it needs to be more transparent.
We fully support the call for a nation wide candle march on 19th February given by Darshan’s family to ensure justice is made in this case. We appeal the student community everywhere in the country to participate in this call by conducting candle marches on their respective campuses.
Let us all have an open dialogue about discrimination on campuses. Let us all make our campuses more inclusive and democratic. Let us be united to ensure justice for Darshan.
APPSC, IIT Bombay