Following the tragic suicides of two Scheduled Castes (SC) students at IIT-Delhi, a campus-wide survey addressing caste discrimination was briefly circulated by the Board for Student Publications (BSP) earlier this week, only to be suspended shortly thereafter.
The survey faced criticism from several students who found some of its questions to be "irrelevant" and "insensitive." An anonymous student pointed to a specific question about the institute's reservation policy, which included options ranging from supporting the current policy to advocating for its complete replacement based on economic conditions, or even suggesting reservations be abolished altogether. The inclusion of a "prefer not to answer" option raised eyebrows among students who questioned the necessity of such a choice, according to media reports.
Other questions in the survey focused on students' annual family income, rural or urban backgrounds, year of entry, gender, and their pursued degree. One question inquired about the prevalence of comments suggesting that someone from a reserved category "had it easier" within their peer group.
In response to the survey's suspension, Pravin Ingole, the SC/ST cell liaison officer at IIT-Delhi, stated that they are currently addressing the situation and planning to release a revised survey through official channels in collaboration with the BSP.
The mishap surrounding the survey was attributed to miscommunication within the institution. An anonymous institute official disclosed that the faculty member overseeing BSP activities had recommended that student board members consult the SC/ST cell, which unfortunately did not happen. As soon as the error was recognized, the survey was promptly withdrawn.
The student head of BSP, preferring to remain unnamed, clarified that the intention behind the survey was to gauge the prevalence of caste-based discrimination on campus. However, the temporary withdrawal was initiated due to complaints from the institute's SC/ST Cell. The BSP is currently working with the SC/ST cell to plan and release a new survey in the near future.
