Many of you may have already seen the controversy unfolding at IIT Bombay.

Recently, a second-year undergrad at IIT B died by suicide. Following his death, students at the institute have protested and raised demands including the resignation of the Director, along with other measures concerning student welfare and accountability.

One of the issues that entered the public discussion was an allegation that the student had used ChatGPT to cheat on an examination and had been caught by a professor. This allegation was widely circulated and, was presented as an established fact saying which eventually student's death.

The student's parents, distressed by the situation also demanded an investigation into possible caste-based discrimination under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

However, IIT Bombay later withdrew its earlier statement with regard to the alleged cheating, stating that the claim had not been adequately investigated.

At present, the circumstances surrounding the student's death and the allegations of caste discrimination are matters that require due process and investigation, without villanizing anyone.

But something else is already happenening...

The public has begun conducting its own trial.

While the facts are under investigation, a large section of the public seems to have already reached its own verdict.

Across LinkedIn, Reddit and other social media platforms, I came across posts attacking the deceased student and his family, mocking photographs of him where he was photographed with an iPhone and portraying the invocation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as an example of oppression or "reveerse casteism" or an attack on “merit.” Some have gone as far as making memes about a student who is no longer alive to respond to any of these accusations. This problematic and inherently casteist in its nature.

1. Existence of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act reflects state's recognition that caste-based discrimination and atrocities are serious and persistent for a need of such level of legal protection. Therefore, the decision of the family to seek an investigation under this cannot reasonably be treated as proof that they are attacking “merit” or attempting to misuse the system.
2. The professor was relieved of his post as a dean for a thorough and fair investigation not because "uncultured genz" forced them to. Its the procedure, but this is being used as a tool to show so called "oppression"

The public narrative which automatically makes dalits, women or anyone who questions the hegemonic system dominated by savarnas needs to be challenged.

Instead of asking why this happened to this student, and steps can prestigious institutes take to address this?, people have begun asking what did this student do to deserve what happened? was he a reserved candidate?

That shift matters.

When an unproven allegation becomes a settled fact, when the deceased is mocked for his possessions, when his family is attacked for seeking legal protection, and when an investigation into caste discrimination is itself portrayed as an attack on “merit,” the discussion has moved beyond a debate about one student's conduct.

It becomes a reflection of how caste operates in public discourse.

The problem lies in the eagerness to establish the student's guilt, discredit his family and defend the institution before the relevant facts have been established, just because he comes from a dalit background.

https://preview.redd.it/anih6iq5yeoh1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=a41e34c1ffa013a36fe4c863eff0f9edcc663b95

A row has erupted over a poster displayed at a religious event at IIT Mandi on September 4 that described Shudras as those meant to “serve higher classes”, prompting the institute to order an inquiry into the matter.

The poster, based on themes from the “Bhagavad Gita”, categorised different groups according to their purported roles, describing Brahmins as those who “spread God’s message”, Kshatriyas as those who “protect society and spirituality”, Vaishyas as those who “drive economy, support others” and Shudras as those who “serve higher classes”.

The poster also carried a verse from the Bhagavad Gita that said the four divisions of human society were created according to the “three modes of material nature and the work associated with them”.

IIT Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera attributed the poster to the students’ interpretation of the scripture and distanced the institute from its contents.

In an email to the IIT Mandi community titled “Outright condemnation of recent poster display within campus”, Behera said he was “shocked” to learn about the poster and stressed that it had not been endorsed by the institute “in any manner”.

“I have personally fought against caste-based discrimination in any form in every forum. I have instituted an enquiry committee in this matter such that the institute campus is never used for any such violation of social harmony,” he said.

Behera said he “fully empathise” with members of the institute who had been hurt by the incident and said IIT Mandi was committed to upholding “the values of equality, social justice, scientific temper” and other principles enshrined in the Constitution.

“The institute strongly condemns any form of caste based discrimination,” he said, urging the campus community to “stand together against such biases/discrimination in any form”.

Behera has a longstanding association with the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

He teaches a three-credit Gita course at IIT Mandi and is the founder of the proposed Bhaktivedanta University, which describes itself as an ISKCON initiative.

In 2023, Behera asked students to pledge not to eat meat while claiming that landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh were occurring because of cruelty to animals.

A year earlier, soon after his appointment as IIT Mandi director, a video surfaced in which Behera claimed to have helped rid a friend’s family of “evil spirits” by chanting holy mantras.

Azad Samaj Party chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad said the portrayal of Shudras, referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, was “objectionable” and contrary to social equality and constitutional values.

“It is unacceptable to elevate or demean any community based on birth under the guise of interpreting any religious text,” he said.

Citing data on caste-based discrimination in higher education, Azad said 72 students had died in higher educational institutions between 2014 and 2021 due to caste-based discrimination, while claiming that no verified case had emerged during the same period in which a student’s future was ruined because of “fake accusations” of caste-based discrimination.

Azad urged the Supreme Court to lift its stay on the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2026, and called for their effective implementation.

He also urged the Union government to enact the regulations into law, arguing that stronger legal measures were needed to prevent caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions and ensure students have a safe and discrimination-free academic environment.

“In the India of equality envisioned by the most revered Baba Saheb, no one can be ‘upper’ or ‘meant to serve’ based on birth,” Azad said, adding that educational institutions should not have “walls of caste” but should instead uphold equality.

Source : Maktoob media

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