Intolerance for bullying should be mandatory

File Photo/Midday

Institutes of higher education in the country have historically been witness to bullying of the kind that transcends logic. IITs are no exception.

IIT Bombay has been in the news for the past few months owing to the suicide of a student, purportedly because of bullying over his caste. Last week, it was witness to another form of harassment when posters declaring ‘only vegetarians allowed here' appeared in the canteen of one of the hostels.

The vegetarian-non-vegetarian debate is an ongoing one in the country, no doubt, but for it to become the basis of conflict at a premier institution of learning is a worrying sign.

Are we telling the next generation that it is all right to impose one's will because most people view vegetarianism from a pious pedestal one has installed oneself on?

The move also brings to the fore the climate of intolerance to those perceived different from us. While scorn for a certain food preference is one form of bigotry, allowing it to pass without debate or protest will only allow other forms - based on religious beliefs, caste, skin colour - to flourish and rend the fabric of civil society. This cannot be an attitude one would want to see thrive in the future.

While IIT-B officials have taken a stern view of the situation, saying that such segregation goes against ‘the values of mutual respect and tolerance', more needs to be done to sensitise young minds to the ills of intolerance. Progress needs to include a reset of hard-held beliefs, those that need questioning on the basis of logic and simple human decency. This needs to be a constant endeavour in all institutions of learning, right from school. Ignoring the issue is not going to make it disappear, it will only empower those who know no better.

We can take a good hard look at ourselves, too, and be aware of how we can inadvertently pass on prejudice to those we have the power to influence.