IIT-Bombay accepts student demands after protests over death
IIT-Bombay has accepted 18 demands from protesting students and appointed a 10-member committee after the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Wakode. His parents allege caste discrimination, while the institute has apologised for an earlier statement about an examination incident and suspended a dean from his administrative post.
Students at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, have continued protesting after the death by suicide of 20-year-old second-year B.Tech student Sahil Wakode on September 18. Wakode’s parents have alleged that he faced caste discrimination and registered a police complaint against IIT-Bombay faculty under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating.
The institute initially said Wakode had been apprehended for cheating during an examination. It later apologised, saying it had been inappropriate to describe events preceding his death before they were established through investigation. IIT-Bombay has accepted 18 student demands and formed a 10-member inquiry committee.
The demands include an independent investigation, action against those responsible, an apology for what students called defamation, student representation on committees and a code of conduct for professors. Students also sought improved mental-health services, including in-person counselling, a psychiatrist on call around the clock, a counsellor for every 250 students and at least one counsellor in each hostel. The institute has suspended Professor Satyanarayan Doolla as Dean of Administrative Affairs.
Some students have rejected the institute’s response as inadequate. The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle has called for the resignations of IIT-Bombay’s director and Doolla, and alleged that four suicides occurred during the director’s tenure. Faculty members are divided.
Some have questioned whether examination-malpractice procedures were followed, including whether Wakode received a fresh answer sheet. A faculty forum defended Doolla, while other faculty members said the forum was not an official representative body and questioned support for an individual while the case was under investigation. A national task-force interim report cited thousands of dropouts from disadvantaged communities at premier institutions between 2018 and 2023, including at the IITs, and linked the figures to academic or other stress.
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