IIT Bombay students who eat non-vegetarian asked to use separate plates at hostel mess

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has reportedly asked students to use separate plates to eat non-vegetarian food at the mess of the residential hostel, according to several media reports. [caption id=“attachment_4305305” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. CNN News18[/caption] The administration of hostel 11 of the institute reportedly sent an email dated 12 January, requesting non-vegetarians to use plates specially meant for non-vegetarian dishes, and not to use the main plates during dinner, Hindustan Times reported. The mail was sent after the administration received several complaints from the vegetarian students, the report added. Although vegetarians and non-vegetarians sit at different tables in the mess, this is the first time they have been asked to use separate plates, Scroll reported. The administration had said that the email was only sent to reiterate a rule which was already in place. Speaking to Mid-day, Ritika Verma, general secretary of hostel eleven’s student council, said that, “This is not a new rule. It is just a reiteration of a regulation that has existed for many years at all the hostels on IIT-B campus. There have always been separate plates for non-vegetarian food. Yet, a few students were seen eating non-vegetarian food in regular plates.” The move has not gone down well with the students, who argue that citing long-accepted practices cannot be a way to normalise such discrimination, according to Mumbai Mirror.