IIT-Bombay removes anti-CAA posters from campus, says nod wasn’t sought

Amid ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, some students and members of the administration

Amid ongoing protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, some students and members of the administration allegedly removed posters put up against the law on Tuesday.

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While the students slammed the administration for the move, the latter claimed the posters were put up without permission and the decision to remove them was “apolitical”.

Students, staff and faculty members of IIT-B have been holding demonstrations against CAA and the attack at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, students put up posters in hostels, condemning CAA and calling for a ‘March to Save the Constitution’ rally on Wednesday. However, the posters were removed by the institute administration. “The institute administration has joined hands with the authorities to stifle the rising voices,” said a student.

Tapanendu Kundu, dean, student affairs, said the posters were put up without permission and the decision to remove them was “apolitical”. “According to the rules of the institute’s hostel council, any posters to be put up in hostel campuses have to be approved by the council. The posters were put up without seeking permission from the hostel council and hence they were removed,” he said.

Apart from hostels, other posters related to CAA, too, were removed from across the campus. A spokesperson of the institute said: “We maintain that IIT-B is an apolitical institute. Students and faculty members can express their opinions in their personal capacity. They must clarify that it is their personal position and not the institute’s. No permission has been sought by any student or faculty bodies for any protest on campus.”

Students and research scholars wore posters on their clothes to class on Wednesday. Moreover, in a first for the institute, around 1,000 people, including undergraduate students, postgraduate students, research scholars and faculty members, marched across the campus, raising slogans against CAA, National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the attack on students, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, students from various institutes in the city joined other citizen activists at Juhu Beach, Carter Road and Girgaum Chowpatti on Wednesday to fly kites with messages against CAA and NRC.