IIT-Bombay fines students protesting against ‘veg-only’ area in the mess

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has decided to take punitive action against those protested against designating some tables at its mess as ‘veg-only’.

A meeting of mess council of hostel 12, 13 and 14 held online on October 1 resolved to impose a fine of Rs 10,000 for the unruly behaviour by a few students during dinner on September 28, according to The Indian Express.

The meeting’s minutes states that the students' protest 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)…’

The day before the protest, the mess council of hostel 12, 13 and 14 informed all residents by email about reserving some tables in the mess as the veg-only area.

The email said that 6 tables have been reserved for veg-food, in order to ‘create a more inclusive and peaceful dining experience for all’.

Some students reportedly said this official segregation was not only unnecessary but also against inclusive approach.

A day after the official announcement, some students protested against the decision during dinner in what they called civil disobedience by eating non-vegetarian food at one of the six ‘veg-only tables.’

The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), an informal students’ collective on the campus, reportedly shared the details of the meeting’s minutes revealing a fine is imposed on one of the protesting students.

The fine will be deducted from the student’s Semester Mess Advance paid at the beginning of the semester.