IIT-M students rally in support of Delhi protests, ‘ordered’ to remove posts on social media

IIT-Madras students organised a spontaneous gathering in support of the student protests in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Wednesday, even as the institute’s management asked them to take down posts that supported the protests earlier in the week.

A student of IIT-Madras, on condition of anonymity, said Chintabar — a registered, independent students’ body in IIT-Madras — had sought permission to conduct an event on Monday evening, in support of the students’ protests at Jantar Mantar and the fast undertaken by Sonam Wangchuk.

The student alleged that the Dean of Students called the student organisers and the faculty adviser, and threatened them of consequences if they did not take down a call-for-action video that was put up on Chintabar’s Instagram handle. The animated video showing Sonam Wangchuk on a fast has since been taken down, although it is still up on a few other social media handles.

However, the students took the help of other social media pages to call for another gathering on Wednesday. It was attended by a few hundred students, who gathered within a two-hour notice. Since the event did not have an organiser, the students brought their own materials and created posters. Some of them spoke about how they felt about the goings on.

The student said that they were trying to mobilise funds, materials, and medicines to be sent to New Delhi in aid of the students protesting there.

They added that the management was yet to respond to the spontaneous gathering.