IIT Bombay Bars Inquiring Into JEE Rank, GATE Score, and Quota Category
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In a significant administrative move to eliminate systemic bias and foster social inclusivity, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has explicitly prohibited students, faculty members, and campus staff from asking peers about their entrance test scores, admission categories, or social background. The premier engineering institute issued formal guidelines stating that querying individuals about their JEE Advanced rank, GATE score, or birth category inadvertently cultivates prejudices, reinforces caste divisions, and leads to social ostracization. The directives follow nearly a month of campus tension and widespread student demonstrations sparked by the tragic suicide of 22-year-old student Sahil Wakode in his hostel room, whose family alleged severe caste harassment and academic intimidation by a senior faculty member.
Curbing Implicit Caste Profiling: Ban on Asking JEE Ranks, GATE Scores, and Categories
The internal communication circulated by the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs establishes clear behavioral boundaries to prevent covert caste profiling on the Powai campus:
Inappropriate Academic Inquiries: The directive clarifies that asking a student for their JEE (Advanced) rank, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) score, or admission quota is strictly inappropriate, as entrance ranks correlate directly with reservation lists and reveal an individual’s caste background.
Curiosity Is No Excuse: The Dean’s office highlighted that even when such questions are posed casually or out of innocent curiosity, they carry a psychologically damaging impact and are often perceived by marginalized students as discriminatory microaggressions.
Focus on Shared Human Interests: The institute urged scholars, researchers, and undergraduates to build campus bonds based on shared passions such as academic departments, sports, cinema, musical interests, hometown cultures, and creative hobbies rather than test rankings or hereditary status.
Zero-Tolerance Code: Strict Bans on Hate Speech Across Digital Channels and In-Person Chats
To enforce a safe and inclusive environment across hostel wings and lecture halls, the administration instituted strict behavioral standards:
Comprehensive Digital Prohibition: The advisory bans forwarding or sharing abusive, derogatory, racist, sexist, or casteist remarks across messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, email threads, and hostel notice boards.
Targeting Religious and Sexual Orientation Bigotry: The mandate extends zero tolerance to any derogatory remarks or harassment targeting an individual's religious beliefs, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Strict Disciplinary Repercussions: The institute administration cautioned that any documented violation of these anti-discrimination guidelines will result in prompt punitive and disciplinary proceedings under institutional conduct rules.
Background of the Crisis: Sahil Wakode's Suicide and Protests at Azad Maidan
The regulatory intervention comes amid escalating protests by student collectives and civil society organizations demanding institutional accountability:
The Tragic Incident: Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old undergraduate student, was discovered dead in his hostel room on September 18, leading to grief and anger across the campus community.
Police Interrogation of Accused Faculty: Wakode's parents lodged formal complaints accusing Professor Suryanarayan Dulla of systematic harassment, mental torment, and caste discrimination, prompting Mumbai Police to question the professor for roughly ten hours earlier this month.
Ongoing Demonstrations: Student groups have staged persistent demonstrations outside IIT Bombay's main gate seeking an open town-hall dialogue with the administration, while the deceased student’s parents continue a hunger strike at Mumbai's Azad Maidan demanding transparent legal proceedings.
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