Topical: Student Protests - Day 2 (25/08/2026)

Following Rishikesh’s tragic suicide, a massive student protest broke out questioning the existing systemic protocols and institutional guidelines. Day 1 of the protest culminated with the director addressing the situation via an institute wide email in response to the student protestors’ demands of investigation, resignation, and compensation.

Mail from Director

In this mail sent out at 1 AM, he acknowledged the gravity of the situation, agreeing to

• an investigation by an independent committee that would include 2 student representatives

• providing financial support to Rishikesh’s family by using the benevolent fund disbursement, reimbursing medical expenses and setting up a fundraiser requesting donations from the faculty, staff and students, and

• appointing an external Ombudsperson to address grievances not addressed by the internal system.

However, no mention was made of the exact amount of compensation, nor of the resignation of Associate Dean, Student Welfare (ADSW), two of the main demands of the students. Moreover, students were dissatisfied with one of the appointed Chairs of the independant inquiry committee due to their online commentary.

Morning Protests

Unsatisfied with the response, the students resumed their protest at LHC at 8 AM with renewed vigour, reiterating their core demands: investigation, resignation, compensation. However, they immediately faced pushback from campus security, who imposed several guardrails, claiming to avoid disorder in the academic area. Only a single student was permitted to stand at the LHC gate with a placard, while others were confined behind barricades. 

The guards were also allegedly observed recording the student protestors when their numbers were relatively low. Amidst this tense atmosphere, security tried to move the barricades even further back. In response, the students doubled down, and were seen bypassing the barricades entirely, sitting directly on the LHC stairs to continue their protest in full swing.

Former Dean of Academics, Professor Narayan Kurur, interacted with the crowd in a personal capacity. He acknowledged the students' right to protest but requested that academic activities remain undisturbed.

Meanwhile, students discussed the director's response from the previous day. They also raised grave concerns about the general demeanour of certain faculty members, specifically citing comments reportedly made by a Professor from the Mechanical Engineering department during his class. The professor allegedly remarked "There is this person who has chosen not to live. Why are you not respecting his choice and going about your business," with a video of the same circulating amongst some.

Move to the Wind Tunnel

With the protestors still dissatisfied with admin response, they marched to the Wind Tunnel around 3pm, closer to the administrative offices.

An intervention by the guards occurred, wherein they read out a letter from the security office to address the crowd, reiterating the institute’s stance and requesting the crowd to avoid disruption of classes. 

While the letter was read out from a printed copy, the guards refused to share the copy with the crowd, leading to confusion over the exact message - some protestors claimed that the message was threatening action against protestors. While the security office shared the message with the crowd on insistence from student leaders, some alleged that the content of this letter differed from what was read out.

After a while, student representatives communicated to the crowd that the director was willing to meet with six representatives of the crowd. Three students from UG and three of Rishikesh’s batchmates were selected for the same. While the initial demand was for a recorded meeting, or one streamed live in seminar hall, the administration insisted against this, citing that personal details of the deceased may be revealed. Finally, a closed door meeting was decided, with MOMs to be released immediately afterwards.

The Meeting with the Director

The meeting, held in the afternoon in the Director’s Office, included the Director, the Deputy Directors, three of Rishikesh’s batchmates, three active student protestors, and five G/DGSecs from SAC, CAIC, BSW, and BSP.

The following concerns were raised by the representatives of the crowd:

1. Independent Inquiry into the Suicide

Student protest representatives raised concerns regarding the members appointed to the investigation committee and demanded student-nominated members. The Director agreed to change the committee composition by replacing one of the appointed people and requested time until Thursday.

2. Compensation 

The Director refused to commit to any exact figure for the compensation apart from the 6 Lakhs amount from the benevolent fund, despite repeated requests, emphasizing that it is impossible for him to commit to any specific amount due to administrative infeasibility.  Additionally the administration did agree to cover the medical bills and transfer the fundraiser funds, directly to the mother's account.

3. Transparency of Protocols

Upon demand, the administration promised to publicly release all pre-existing protocols on mental health, accommodation, and the composition of the new committee by Thursday. Protest representatives insisted on completion by EOD, but the Director committed to a Thursday deadline. The Director suggested forming a protocol review committee involving student representation.

4.  Hostel Accommodation

Protest representatives emphasized that parental support should not be used as an excuse to not grant hostel accommodation. The director re-iterated that systemic protocol changes will be made. 

There were some disagreements between the protest representatives and the admin on whether Rishikesh had appealed for housing apartments or not. The Director deferred this matter to the enquiry committee to ensure clarity. 

5. Resignation of ADSW 

Protest reps echoed the students’ demand for resignation of current Associate Dean Student Welfare (ADSW). Aside from her remarks over the current incident, students noted previous instances of unapproachability, arguing that the resignation ought to be tied not to the inquiry, but to the lack of faith in the professor.

They said that if the Assc. Dean was unapproachable, and students were having to approach higher-ups for matters ideally dealt by her, the chair might as well be empty. 

The Director assured the students that the admin does not endorse some of the comments made by the ADSW, but claimed that she was being unfairly targeted. The demand for resignation stood unaccepted.

6. Protection for Protesting Students

Reps requested that IITD students not be put before the law for the peaceful protest and that no punitive and vindictive action be taken against students. The director insisted that disruption of classes shall not be allowed and expressed concern over external people infiltrating the protest. 

The administration guaranteed protection from vindictive actions, but did not guarantee protection from punitive measures to protesting students. 

The director assured that no action shall be taken as long as the protestors acted within certain general guidelines; however, these guidelines were not specified.

Instances of non-cooperation from security personnel and insensitive comments from professors were highlighted. Protest representatives were asked to collate a list of these incidents for further investigation.

Some representatives felt the meeting was rushed towards the end, as the Director had to leave for a pre-scheduled all-faculty meeting.

Protest Continues

The meeting ended with dissatisfaction from the student representatives, leaving the students with no choice but to move on to their next course of action. After a candle march at the Red Square, they organised a march from the Wind tunnels to the Main Gate. They chanted slogans and demanded justice, continuing the protest into the late evening.

The protest finally concluded for the day, with the students set to return at 8 AM tomorrow in front of LHC.