Social reform in Students' hostels needed

Co-ed hostels must be brought into use within institutions of higher learning. A small part of the existing hostels must be converted into co-ed hostels and the option of staying in such places must be offered to those who would benefit


Pro-active approaches are needed in all aspects of our democracy. The fact that it has been working to satisfaction is not necessarily a reasonto relax. Let me write about two events that bear witness to the need for social reform within the student community. One happened eight years ago when I was a research assoc. in an IIT and the other was narrated by a friend and took place just a few months ago.

There was a transgender student, I think a BTech, in this IIT where I was enrolled as a researcher, who wished to be accomodated in one of the the women's (girls') hostels because she self-identified as a woman, However, following lack of co-operation from various people involved/or owing to unwillingness to face a new situation, this student had to stay in a separate single room apartment, which is usually given to Research Associates and Junior faculty.

The other happening is when one friend of mine, a muslim girl, wished to go to Bangalore to take up a job at the end of her PhD, in physics. She was accomodated in a guest house, as a paying guest. She had to share a room with four/five other women. These would never talk to her in a friendly or courteous way, mostly tell her how to arrange her stuff and pass veiled comments about her presence and so on. One day one of the room-mates lost her gold chain and while no one openly accused this girl, they brought the warden in and made her check everyone's baggage and later, continued to cold shoulder thsi one, acting as if she were alien, and made further pointed veiled remarks.

My friend holds strong suspicions that the culprit was the other occupant who projected an image of being a close friend of the one who lost the chain.

I think in both these situations, the problem is because one group felt an ownership of the territory, due to their being the majority in that instance. There is a suggestion I have for hostel reform. Institutions likethe IITs that offer professional and higher educations should have, in addition to the present hostels, a co-ed hostel where accomodation can be taken up voluntarily by students who understand India's diversity. Letters of acceptance can be sent to parents/guardians/former teachers for approval/endorsement. Further, initially, if the institutions think they need to test out the concept, it can be offered for final and pre-final year students only. Those students who have established trust with the institute. Rules governing this hostel must be framed so that they will work towards nurturing a bias-free environment within the educational system.