The Ashoka University in Haryana’s Sonepat has decided to set up an Equal Opportunity Cell after a group of students held protests demanding that a caste census be conducted at the institute, The Indian Express reported.
The university said that the role of the cell will include making recommendations on improving “prevailing practices and policies on inclusion, diversity and sensitisation”.
A student body named the Social Justice Forum held a protest over the past week demanding that a caste census be conducted annually on campus to ascertain the caste identities of students, faculty members and workers.
The forum also demanded that an annual Ambedkar Memorial Lecture be held, and the policy on late payment of fees be changed. It said that the fee policy – under which students who delay paying fees can be blocked out of facilities such as Google Classroom and mess meals – disproportionately harms those from marginalised communities.
Vice-Chancellor Somak Raychaudhury said that the university has agreed to hold an annual lecture on inclusion and justice, and that the institute was in the process of setting up an Equal Opportunity Cell, The Indian Express reported.
On Wednesday, the university also said it will “take all measures necessary” to ensure that peace and harmony in the campus is not disturbed. This came in response to videos of protestors shouting “Brahmin-Baniyawaad Murdabad”, which can be broadly translated as “Down with Brahmin-Baniya dominance”.
The university said it “deplores expressions of hatred directed against any individual or group”. It added: “Actions that make the atmosphere intimidating, threatening or hostile to individuals or groups are therefore regarded as serious offences and are subject to University disciplinary procedure.”
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