Vrijendra | 13 August 2024 | The Free Press Journal

In the last few months, three separate incidents in institutions of higher education in Mumbai, all associated with disciplining their students, raise troubling questions about how authorities in these institutions view their students.

Let me first summarise these incidents. In June 2024, IIT Bombay imposed a financial fine, ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh each, on eight of its undergraduate students, along with facing suspension from the hostel, for taking part in a play during a cultural event at the IIT in March thus year, that ‘offended’ the religious (Hindu) sentiments of a few of its other students. The Director of the institute justified the penalty on the ground that none of the students has been rusticated and their academic careers have not been disrupted. The Director further added that the decision to impose the penalty was taken by the discipline committee of the institute following a due process!…

Click here to read the complete article