‘We’re terrified’: What students told Express during IIT Delhi’s midnight protest

Later, a security guard responded: “Let this protest end.”

As the arch closed in on the main gate, a line of security guards formed a human blockade.

According to protesting students The Indian Express spoke to, the march was held late at night because a rigorous academic schedule did not allow them to gather earlier.

‘No video byte’

It had begun as a small vigil at the SAC Lawns at dusk. By midnight, it had swelled to hundreds of students from various departments. They moved in unison towards the perimeter, their faces deliberately shielded from cameras, holding cardboard placards aloft and chanting, “Justice for Rishikesh!”

Passersby near the SDA market turned their heads towards the unlikely sloganeering, asking, “What is happening?”

Journalists waited for students to speak on camera, but no one came forward. Then a PhD student turned and shouted: “No video byte. We will release a statement. Please understand.” Within seconds, the student turned away, ensuring there was no clue to their identity.

At the centre of the crowd was a massive banner that read: “IIT Delhi students demand justice! Investigation, Compensation, Resignation. We stand with Rishikesh.” Cardboard placards read: “IIT admin sharm karo (Have some shame).”

Speaking to this paper slightly away from the protest, a scholar said, “Students are terrified of administrative retribution… That’s why they were speaking with their backs turned to recording lenses…”

The scholar described their fear: “Undergraduates in their final year fear placement debarment, PhD scholars risk having their thesis submissions and degrees stalled for years… Everyone enters IIT with high hopes. It is a dream. But after becoming a student here, those dreams are shattered… every single day, we find ourselves in the midst of more stress.”

Once the protest died down half an hour later, security guards opened the side gate while continuing to bar entry through the main gate.

“Who’s this? Show hardcopy,” said a guard in a clipped, gruff tone, demanding to see IDs.

“Bhaiya, we all have hard copies and anything else you ask. Please just let us in,” a fresher pleaded back from the line.

Planning the next move

The campus fell into silence as the protests ended.

Later, a group of students gathered at the campus wind tunnel to debate the risks of uncoordinated media interactions.

“It is dangerous to go in front of the media untrained and emotional, as words can easily get twisted,” read a message circulated internally that summarised the discussion, citing an earlier clip in which a student’s criticism was misattributed.

“People who see that might think the protest is influenced by the wrong elements. We need a designated team to speak on behalf of the students.”

As another day of unrest loomed, that proposal was slated for discussion at the next campus gathering.

The ongoing agitation marks the institute’s longest sustained demonstration since April 1990 — the last time a protest of this magnitude shook the campus.

Asked how the momentum had held across five days, a protesting student explained, “With Rakhi and the weekend approaching, we knew people would be traveling or taking time off. We wanted to give this everything we had before the campus emptied out.”