At IIT Bombay, students remember Darshan Solanki a year after his death
Darshan Solanki was a first-year IIT Bombay student who died by suicide last year after allegedly experiencing caste-based discrimination. A year later, students say there is a need for more proactive measures by the IIT administration.
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The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) and the Ambedkar Students’ Collective (ASC) had called for the assembly in remembrance of Solanki on his first death anniversary. (Express Photo)A few students from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay gathered inside the campus on Monday evening in remembrance of Darshan Solanki, a first-year under-graduate (UG) student from the premier institute who died by suicide in February last year after allegedly experiencing caste-based discrimination.
The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) and the Ambedkar Students’ Collective (ASC) had called for the assembly in remembrance of Solanki on his first death anniversary. Close to 50 students, including members of the two students’ collectives, gathered on the open lawns near the main building of IIT Bombay on Monday evening.
“The idea was to look at the year that went by after Darshan’s death which voiced the issue of caste-discrimination on campus. The institute issued anti-discrimination guidelines months after his death. Among various measures, the guidelines specified that it is inappropriate to ask a fellow student’s JEE rank or GATE score or any other information that could reveal the caste of the individual. But the SC/ST Cell on campus is not very proactive yet. Even the proposed course on caste awareness by the cell is not yet ready,” an APPSC member shared.
Students also spoke about cases of suicides by Dalit students in other IITs while insisting on the need for more proactive measures by the administration. “Following a huge gathering of students on campus after Darshan’s death last year, the administration had assured us of an open house to discuss our concerns. But it has not happened,” an APPSC member added.
Solanki, a first-year chemical engineering student of IIT Bombay who hailed from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad was a first-generation Dalit student from his family. He died by suicide on February 12, 2023, a day after his exams.
While his parents had alleged caste discrimination on campus to be the cause behind his extreme step, an interim report by an internal committee of the institute had pointed out his poor academic performance. However, months later, the Mumbai police arrested a fellow student for allegedly abetting Solanki’s suicide, based on a suicide note he left behind.
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