The members of a student collective that organised the ‘Celebrating Love’ event at IIT-Madras on November 14 have accused the institute’s administration of attempting to control student activities.
ChintaBAR, the collective, put out a note on its Facebook page on Saturday about the response of the IIT-M administration to the event, which drew mixed reactions. Several right-wing groups had condemned the event.
According to the note, several students were summoned by the Dean of Students, Srinivasan Sivakumar, on November 20 regarding the event.
They were told that ChintaBAR should shed its independent status and register as an official student body with a faculty adviser. Any activity planned had to be cleared by the Dean himself, they were told. “Moreover, requests [for information] about existing rules or published circulars regarding such matters were denied,” the note claimed.
The note also asserted the need for a liberal framework for open functioning.
When contacted, Professor Sivakumar said there were standard operating procedures in place at IIT-M.
“The dean of students needs to be informed of events conducted by a student body on campus so that they do not hamper the functioning of the university,” he said. He added that no activity had been denied permission so far and that the authorities had not been contacted before the ‘Celebrating Love’ event.
“Any student group needs to be registered with either the dean, a faculty member or the student secretary. These steps are not meant to curb the activities of the students, but to ensure that nothing unlawful takes place,” Professor Sivakumar said
