“Why force a non-vegetarian to eat in a vegetarian-only canteen using technicalities?” This is what a student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad asked the management in a recent discussion on vegetarian canteens in the IIT hostel. 

A trail of emails accessed by The News Minute showed 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. This comes at a time IIT-Bombay is facing allegations of caste discrimination after some students reserved a section of its mess dining hall for vegetarians. 

On the Hyderabad campus, some students with meat-based diets 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.

The controversy began in July this year when students at 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 IIT-H director and some students. 

The survey concluded on the next day itself, and by July 27, another mail was sent to students who had opted for the ‘pure veg’ section. The mail gave them a day’s time to register for the ‘veg-only’ dining hall. By the first week of August, students saw that the new vegetarian section for diners had been demarcated in the new dining hall. 

There are two canteens on the IIT-H campus – an old canteen 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,” said an IIT-H student, who wanted to remain anonymous. “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.” 

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 number of faculty members at the institute are from upper caste groups. 

After establishing a veg-only section in the canteen, the IIT-H administration is now mulling 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”. 

The move triggered a huge debate among students. The issue was primarily over one caveat that the IIT-H administration had 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 at the campus mess. On October 1, a student was levied a fine of Rs 10,000, while two others are reportedly being traced for protesting against separate vegetarian-only spaces in September. 

A student at IIT-H told The News Minute: “The campus has 10 percent 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.” 

A student and member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle at IIT-Bombay, who has been part of the protests against segregated dining spaces, 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 the institute.

Sylvia Karpagam, a public health doctor, said that off-late there has been 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 at IIT-H. He was referring to a student batting for the veg-only dining hall, who stated 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 these 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. 

On 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,” said another student at IIT-H. The students who spoke to The News Minute, did not want to be identified for the fear of being targeted by the administration.

As we reached out to IIT-H director B Srinivas Murthy, he did not answer our calls. An email from The News Minute to the IIT-H administration on the issue has not been met with any response.

An IIT-B research scholar and member of the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, which has been opposing such segregation, told The News Minute that this practice is not new at IITs, but has 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 an RTI response that there is no official policy of having an exclusive dining space for vegetarians,” he said.

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 at IIT-B this July when some students pasted a ‘veg only’ section poster at the mess. The administration eventually made segregation a policy. 

This report was republished from The News Minute as part of The News Minute-Newslaundry alliance. It has been lightly edited for style and clarity. Read about our partnership here and become a TNM Member here.