protests continued at IIT-Bombay’s Powai campus
MUMBAI: While the father of 22-year-old IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode has alleged that caste-based discrimination, mocking and harassment by a professor and the institute administration contributed to his son’s death, some students on campus have rejected the caste angle.
The students said academic stress and the pressure of engineering studies could have played a role in Wakode’s death. Speaking to PTI, students said there was no consensus among them that caste discrimination was behind Wakode’s death. They said the circumstances surrounding the incident needed to be investigated, but stressed that the institute needed to strengthen its student-welfare and mental-health systems. One student said academic stress could have been a factor in Wakode’s death, while acknowledging that engineering education itself comes with considerable academic pressure. That’s how you learn,” the student said. However, the student said the possibility that Wakode may have feared disciplinary action could not be ignored. Prof Suryanarayana Doolla had served as dean of student affairs for around three years and had suspended students in the past, creating a perception among some students that disciplinary action could have serious consequences, including being removed from a hostel, according to a former IIT-Bombay student. “So, if Doolla sir has threatened the student that he will suspend you or throw you out of the hostel, then his previous track record shows that if he says that he will suspend you, then he can do it. So, this fear is in all the students’ minds,” the former student said. IIT-Bombay has denied allegations of caste discrimination and has said the circumstances surrounding Wakode’s death are being investigated. they said the incident had highlighted the need for changes in the institute’s student-welfare system While students differed over the caste allegations and Doolla’s removal.
The students’ remarks come days after Wakode’s father, Ravindra Wakode, alleged that his son had been subjected to caste-based discrimination and torture by faculty and administrative officials. He claimed that his son had spoken about a professor allegedly calling him a lower caste and mocking him, and demanded a probe into their alleged role in his death. “I feel stress is the reason; otherwise there is no such other reason why Sahil at least would take a step. But stress is there while studying and the syllabus is difficult. But I feel that’s a part of engineering, right? Police registered an FIR following the family’s complaint, invoking abetment of suicide provisions and the SC/ST Act. A professor was named as an accused and the Crime Branch took over the investigation. Amid protests on campus, the institute temporarily relieved Doolla of his position as dean with immediate effect. The action concerned his administrative responsibilities and did not amount to suspension from the institute’s faculty. Students have called for more psychiatrists and mental-health support, greater student participation in administrative decisions and mechanisms through which students can raise concerns against faculty and administration.
Wakode, a second-year BTech student in the Energy Science and Engineering department, was found hanging in his hostel room at IIT-Bombay’s Powai campus on September 18. As the Crime Branch investigation continues, the allegations made by Wakode’s family and the views expressed by students about academic stress, disciplinary pressure and caste discrimination remain subject to the findings of the probe. (With agency inputs) You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai Stay updated with the latest Mumbai news.
IIT-Bombay had initially said Wakode had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to an AI platform to seek answers. The institute also said no disciplinary action had been initiated against him at that stage. The remarks come amid a wider disagreement on campus over the circumstances surrounding Wakode’s death, the caste allegations made by his family and the action taken against Doolla. He was found dead hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. Wakode’s family subsequently alleged harassment and caste-based discrimination. Download the TOI App.
Because he was doing his job,” he added, but Professor Doolla’s suspension is completely wrong. “We all agree that changes need to be made in the administration to make it more student-friendly.
The student said such fear could have added to the pressure Wakode was facing, but acknowledged that the circumstances surrounding his death remained under investigation. Another student from the electrical engineering department said he was aware of the circumstances surrounding the mid-semester examination but rejected the caste-discrimination allegations being discussed outside the campus. So, according to what the professor might have said and with stress surrounding him, he might have taken this step,” the student said. He said the caste-related allegations being discussed in the media did not reflect what students on campus believed. Here, IIT Bombay doesn’t do any type of discrimination,” the student said. He added that examinations were evaluated according to students’ performance and said there was no discrimination in the way marks were awarded. The student, however, said the controversy had highlighted a larger issue on which students did agree: the need to improve the way student welfare is handled at the institute. One student said removing Prof Doolla from his administrative position was unfair and argued that he had been performing his responsibilities as dean. And the caste angle which is being brought in, which is not the case at all,” the student said.
“He was caught for cheating in the exam. He was caught with his mobile. “The caste-related angle that you might have seen in the news channels is totally wrong. The students also differed over the action taken against Doolla following Wakode’s death. “But I think students disagree on the treatment that is being done to Prof Doolla. The IIT-Bombay Faculty Forum later clarified that Prof Doolla had been temporarily relieved of his administrative responsibilities to facilitate an independent and unbiased investigation. The forum also organised a march in his support and objected to reports suggesting that he had been suspended from the institute. IIT-Bombay has also agreed to several demands raised by protesting students, including an independent investigation and changes to academic and student-welfare mechanisms.
The institute later apologised for its earlier communication, saying it was inappropriate to characterise the circumstances preceding Wakode’s death before they had been established through an investigation.