Insight Editorial TeamDisclaimer: The content on this website is strictly the property of Insight, IIT Bombay. Content here cannot be reproduced, quoted or taken out of context without written permission from Insight. If you wish to reproduce any content herein, please contact us:
Chief Editors: Ayush Agarwal (210100035@iitb.ac.in), Ishita Poddar (21b030016@iitb.ac.in)
Mail to: insight@iitb.ac.in
Disclaimer: The content on this website is strictly the property of Insight, IIT Bombay. Content here cannot be reproduced, quoted or taken out of context without written permission from Insight. If you wish to reproduce any content herein, please contact us:
Chief Editors: Harsith Ravichandran (200260020@iitb.ac.in), Sanskriti Agrawal (20b030030@iitb.ac.in)
Mail to: insight@iitb.ac.in
On 3rd October, 2023, a letter was submitted to the Dean of Student Affairs raising concerns about the current General Secretary of Hostel Affairs. This was initially signed by four current General Secretaries (GSTA1, GSCA, GSAA-UG, GSAA-PG) and the previous General Secretary of Sports Affairs. The letter was signed on 6th September, 2023 by the GSSA, during which the GSSA held their office.
The signatories met with the OCs of the respective Independent Bodies (MI, TF, E-Cell, Abhyuday, SARC) to discuss their concerns before the submission of the letter.
Statement from the signatories
The signatories involved have provided Insight with a collective statement on 8th October, which has been published below, as is. We would like to make it explicitly clear that Insight has not authored these statements.
“5 General Secretaries (GSSA, GSCA, GSAA(UG), GSTA, GSAA(PG)) after discussions involving the IB OCs as well (MI, TF, E-cell, Abhyuday, SARC), have written to Dean SA reporting abuse of power and failure to perform basic duties by the current GSHA*. We have provided recommendations to protect the student populous and ensure that the integrity of the PoR is maintained.The GSHA is supposed to be an elected student representative trusted to represent all the students in WDC and DAC meetings. The current system of disciplinary action on breaking the campus code of conduct (WDC and DAC) allows GSHA to possess the WDC records of all students. This centralization of resources has led to the abuse of power within the security section, such as control over vigilance staff and deliberately misplacing WDC records. Moreover, the nomination of student representatives who are usually elected, also poses a question on the ability of these students to represent the student community established in IIT Bombay.
The General Secretaries have pointed this out to Dean SA along with the following recommendations:
- Removal of the current GSHA2 from WDC and DAC meetings, given that he is not an elected representative and has repeatedly acted against student interests in the past. We additionally demand that students be given the liberty to choose a student nominee from the pool of the rest of the student representatives.
- Removal of the Security Nominee of the Hostel Affairs council from the Institute’s Security Committee to ensure unbiased, agenda-free vigilance.”
– Statement from the signatories of the letter as of 8th October (GSCA, GSTA1, GSAA-UG, GSAA-PG, ex-GSSA3)
When approached for a comment on the statement, the GSHA replied that they wanted the “signed hard-copy proofs” for all the concerns raised.
Insight is committed to providing a transparent, unbiased platform for the student community to share their views. The student populace placed their trust in their General Secretaries while voting for them, hence we feel that the concerns they raise against a fellow student representative deserve to be acknowledged. In pursuit of fairness, we believe that the specific concerns in the letter should be looked into by the relevant office.
Around 6:00 p.m., 10th October
The current GSTA informed us that he was unaware of the letter being submitted to the Dean SA, despite having signed it himself earlier. He got to know that the letter was submitted only on 10th October, which is a week after the date of submission. The GSTA approached Insight when he got information that this news was to be published, because, according to him, that is when he got information about the submission of the letter.
“I was not consulted before the submission of the letter and got to know that the letter has been submitted already, only on 10th Oct. According to prior agreement, the letter should have been submitted only after a formal meeting between the General Secretaries and Dean SA. I feel that this is a breach of my trust, so I want to withdraw my signature.”
– by General Secretary of Technical Affairs
Notes:
1 The GSTA later “withdrew” his signature, please refer to the end of the article for their comments
2 Current GSHA refers to the student representative who holds the position of responsibility at the time of posting
3 ex-GSSA refers to the student representative who held the position on the date of their signature, 6th September 2023
8