SC/ST IIT-B students wary of mentioning

First India Bureau Mumbai: A survey conducted by IIT Bombay’s Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC-ST) student cell last year has revealed that nearly one-third of the 388 SC/ ST students did not feel comfortable openly discussing their caste identity on campus. Details from the Feb- ruary 2022 survey–which are yet to be released officially by the institution–have not been previously reported.

Around 131 students (33.8%) said they could talk about their caste only among “very close” friends, while only 27 students (7.2%) felt unafraid to discuss caste in their “extended friends” circles.

The term “very close friend” implies someone from the respondents’ own social background. Effectively, this indicates that almost 245 (63.2%) of respondents were not comfortable talking about caste identity openly.

“The number maps how hostile, insensitive and unsafe a place IIT Bombay is for SC/ST stu- dents,” noted the report.

It further stated that the immediate task before the cell and IIT is to make the institution “a safe and secure space and to build the confidence of students so that they can openly assert their identity and seek redressal in case of discrimination”.

The survey report also noted that 83

(21.6%) students responded with a ‘yes’ when asked if they feared any backlash from students/faculty if they spoke about caste discrimination.

Ninety-nine (25.5%) responded with a ‘maybe’ while the rest said ‘no’.

Clearly, a significant number of students do not feel safe discussing caste-based discrimina- tion, a fact that bears repetition in the context of the recent death of Dalit student Darshan Solanki.

Dheeraj Singh, a former research associate at IIT-B who is mobilizing IIT alumni and faculty for SC/ST welfare, said it was clear that 20 to 25% of all students were at risk for mental illness or suicide.