Why force a non-vegetarian to eat in a vegetarian-only canteen using technicalities, is a question that a student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) posed to the management in a recent discussion about introducing vegetarian canteens in the hostel. A trail of emails accessed by TNM shows a raging debate among students after the IIT-H administration said it was planning to introduce a vegetarian-only dining hall in the coming semester. At the same time when IIT-Bombay was facing allegations of caste discrimination after some students had reserved a section of the mess dining hall for vegetarians, some students with meat-based diets at the Hyderabad campus were also upset that they may be forced to eat vegetarian food in the coming semester if they were unable to register for non-vegetarian food in the canteens.
It started in July this year when students at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) received a mail introducing a survey among hostel students asking them whether they would like to register for a ‘veg only’ dining hall. The mail had a link to a form and informed students that it was being sent at the request of the Director of IIT-H and some students. The survey closed on the next day itself, and by July 27, another mail gave the students who opted for the ‘pure veg’ section a day’s time to register for it. By the first week of August, students saw that the new vegetarian section for diners had been demarcated in the new mess dining hall.
There are two canteens on the IIT-H campus - one old and a new one. “The old canteen does not have any such segregation. The vegetarian-only section is in the new canteen, where even faculty and other staff members come to eat now. It may also have something to do with the faculty members. They have set up a separate section entirely with utensils for vegetarians. The result of that survey was not made public,” said a student from IIT-H who did not wish to be identified.
Caste pride disguised as exclusive dining
A faculty member from the institute said it was “very possible” that the vegetarian section came about due to other faculty members using the same canteen. The IIT-H teacher, who did not want to be identified ,said that a good chunk of faculty at the institute are from upper caste groups.
After establishing a veg-only space, the IIT-H administration is now mulling over setting up an exclusive vegetarian dining hall in the coming semester. On September 12, another survey was sent to seek inputs before calling for the required caterers and the “possibility of running a veg mess in one of the dining halls.” This triggered a huge debate among students, with many arguing for and against it. The issue was primarily over one caveat that the IIT-H administration stated: If it decided to run a vegetarian dining hall in one of the messes, students who may not want to eat only vegetarian food might be forced to if other spaces were full.
“If we decide to run a vegetarian dining hall in one of the messes, we need to get sufficient numbers. It is to be understood that if registrations for other caterers are full, the rest have to choose the vegetarian option,” said the email from Mess secretary Rishika Surisetty. Her email triggered a series of back-and-forth arguments, with a few students pointing out that they should not have to eat vegetarian food due to a lack of options.
The development comes when anti-caste students from IIT-B have been penalised for protesting and raising their voices against ‘veg only’ tables in IIT-B. A student on October 1 was levied a fine of Rs 10,000, while two others are reportedly being identified for protesting against separate vegetarian-only spaces in September. “The campus has 10% or less vegetarian students out of the 3,800-odd people here. While sending us the survey link, they said that the veg mess would run only if a majority agreed. But, five days after sending us the link at the end of July, we learnt that registrations for the veg mess had begun, and the veg-only dining space began from the first week of August itself. From what we know, about 200 people asked for a veg-only section,” another student from IIT-H told TNM.
A member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APPSC) from IIT-Bombay, who has been part of the protests against segregated dining there, said that separate utensils had been earmarked for vegetarians.
“That space was already there for years and we opposed it. In some hostels here, they have different utensils for vegetarians. The plates used for eating vegetarian food are round and the plates used for eating both are rectangular shaped. So if you eat meat on a circular plate there will be objections. There are Jain counters as well,” said the IIT-B scholar, who did not want to be identified due to fear of being punished by his institute.
Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor, said that off-late there is a resurgence of caste pride that is attached to being vegetarian. "It was always there, and people were ashamed to flaunt it. This resurgence of caste pride is there also thanks to the BJP. More than a survey on what people want to eat, they (IIT-H administration) should survey nutritional requirements in hostels. If they go along those lines, then they cannot erase animal food because that is the most scientific approach. What they are doing is not based on any science. There is no limit on the Exaggerated Veg Fragility Syndrome,” she said.
Students who are unhappy with this development pointed out that vegetarians who have advocated for segregation look at meat-eaters in a negative light. “The Director himself wanted this. There is pressure on us and students are being threatened to keep quiet. The faculty also wants us to keep quiet and not raise our voices. When we eat meat, vegetarians say we are hurting creatures,” said a researcher from IIT-H. He was referring to a student batting for the veg-only dining hall, stating that those who eat only vegetables and fruits are “kind with animals and they don’t like to hurt any creatures...” This, the researcher pointed out, is a typical argument upper caste students make to look down upon meat eaters.
Sylvia also pointed out that arguments against cruelty to animals by vegetarians were not valid as they ignored the exploitative nature of cattle farming. "It is quite concerning when people say caste does not exist, but the expectation of adjusting comes only to the meat eaters. They can't claim that it is coming from the love of animals, because it comes from a moral casteist position. At home, we are taught not to eat meat because people who eat it are dirty,” she stated.
In the case of IIT-H, Sylvia said that such public institutes were spaces meant for students to learn and value diversity. “All these institutions should put up boards on the most nutritious foods. They should have food festivals to understand and value what everyone eats so that meat eaters don't have to reclaim their space,” she added.
What has astonished the students is the speed with which this has been taken up. “Usually, things take a long time to be established, so this was a little surprising for us,” stated another student from IIT-H. All the students TNM spoke to, did not want to be identified for fear of being targeted by the administration.
When contacted, IIT-H Director B Srinivas Murthy did not answer calls. An email from TNM to the IIT-H on the issue has not been met with any response.
An IIT-B research scholar and member of the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), which has been opposing this form of segregation, told TNM that this practice was not new in IITs but had been formalised now. “This was practised in 2004-05 also, and APPSC had then said that as an institution it should not be practised. IIT responded last year via a Right to Information (RTI) response that there is no official policy of having an exclusive dining space for vegetarians,” he explained.
The IIT-B scholar added that there has always been a section of vegetarians who would mock others for even accidentally sitting in their ‘space’. “Sometimes non-vegetarians would sit in their space when the mess was full and this was used to project vegetarians as victims. Because of APPSC opposing such things, they went to the IIT-B administration, but they initially could not get anything done,” he said.
However, there was a furore in IIT-B this July when some students posted a ‘veg only’ section poster. The administration eventually made segregation a policy.