IIT-Bombay and the ‘ban’ on non-veg food

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) is in news once again. This time it is because of a notice issued by the head of the Civil Engineering department. The notice completely bans all non-vegetarian food items being served in the Civil Cafe, which is one of the institute’s most popular cafes and caters to a large section of students who consume non-vegetarian food. “Due to the “objections” raised by “some people”, non-veg items are strictly banned and should not be served including egg items,” the notice stated. 

Let’s call a spade a spade and acknowledge that it is nothing short of food fascism. Doesn’t the ban point to a position of superiority and a sense of purity enjoyed by vegetarians and a sense of impurity and inferiority of the non-vegetarian people?

However, this isn’t the first instance when such a circular has been issued. On January 12, students of Hostel 11 received an email from the mess council asking them to use only “tray-type plates” for non-vegetarian items and not to use “main plates”. By not allowing “main plates” for non-veg food items, they have articulated the hierarchy well. Nothing hidden! The email stated that the request had been issued due to some students’ “complaints”. When debated on social media, the university authorities had denied the usage of separate plates. But, fact is fact. In Hostel 15’s mess, there are separate, marked tables for veg and non-veg food, while the joint mess of Hostels 12,13 and 14 has a separate section for vegetarians.

On August 1, 2016, students of Hostel 12 had received an email from the maintenance council of Hostel 12 with a headline “Fine Structure Imposed by Hostel Council.” One of the mess-related rules stated: “Use of non-veg items is strictly prohibited in the veg section and violation of which will attract a fine of Rs 200.”

The “justification” for such an action should disturb those who believe in human dignity. It stated, “Many vegetarians are reluctant to share tables with non-vegetarians due to aesthetic and ethic problems.” Ethical and aesthetic problems for whom? Doesn’t it label non-vegetarians as ethically wrong or inferior or secondary? What are the ethics or aesthetics that vegetarians having and which seems to be lacking among non vegetarians? Such practices are nothing but a perpetuation of discrimination and humiliation of a large section of students. This cultivates a social distance from non-vegetarian food and non-vegetarian people, in turn.

While looking into how an administration of a premier institute could impose a ban on non-vegetarian food simply because of “objections” by “some people”, it unravels the larger IIT-B culture. It is so because it seems that “some people” have enough influence. It is also because of the fact that the administration knows about the insensitivity and political immaturity of a majority of engineering students. Not to blame the students, our system has made them so. Majority of the IITians are indifferent or insensitive towards social issues. Most of them have an “I don’t care” kind of mentality. When the socially and politically relevant issues are raised by some, most of them have an “why do you bother about such silly issues” approach. Some of them will ask you, “Why do you bring in “caste” on the campus? Why do you bring in politics in a campus like IIT-B’s?” Yes, they think the land of IIT-B is abstracted from the social and political realities outside!

It is high time that we pondered over the lack of social and political awareness among the larger student community and their disinterest in those issues in engineering institutes. Have our engineering institutions mostly turned into the factories for producing engineers without social awareness and political culture? After all the Science and Technology education, many of them are upright conservatives because, primarily and significantly, they miss a culture of debates and dialogues on society. This in turn makes them insensitive or disinterested in political issues. At first, they have to be taught that to be political is not bad and one cannot be detached from politics even if he or she wants to be. There is a dire need for political engagements among the engineering students and it is the political engagements that make a democracy healthy.

When it comes to the current issue, engineering students have to stop the argument of “respect others” to escape any questioning of hegemony and rational discussions about the exclusionary vegetarianism. They need to engage in debates with fellow mates, which will open up their worlds so that they won’t unquestioningly accept the ideas of pollution, purity and superiority. With constant engagements, when such an instinct of disgust for non-vegetarian food and people is longer in the minds of the vegetarians (of course, not about all), the cafes will remain open with all food varieties.

Fearing retaliation, the author has requested anonymity.