Students at IIT Bombay launched a hunger strike following a fortnight of demonstrations connected to the death of BTech student Sahil Wakode. Their demands, directed at the institute's administration, cover three distinct areas: the conduct of the investigation into the reported incident, student welfare, and caste-related matters.
The announcement coincided with the institute's decision to observe a day off — one that students associated with the principles of peace and justice linked to Mahatma Gandhi. Hundreds of students gathered on campus after news of Sahil's death spread through the community. The group advanced toward the main entrance and put forward calls for the resignations of Director Shirish Kedare and Professor Doolla.
At the conclusion of a meeting, students indicated that the Director's attendance had not produced any substantive response to their outstanding concerns, with his remarks amounting to a restatement of commitments already on the table. Overnight, students continued the demonstration while raising a range of concerns tied to campus life. Their stated position was that a path forward depended on the administration first acknowledging where its approach had fallen short.
As of that point, no formal reply from the IIT Bombay administration had been issued to address the concerns students had raised.
Over the course of the two-week action, students convened open forums covering welfare and academic concerns — among them mental health, staff-student dynamics, placement-related pressures, assessment practices, and support for those on campus who have experienced bereavement. Cross-batch, cross-discipline gatherings provided students from various degree programmes a space to meet at a time when access to shared areas around campus was said to be narrowing.
Ten demands were placed before the administration as students maintained their walkout. Among the requests put forward are protections for Sahil's family while on campus, the removal of Professor Doolla from duties pending the outcome of criminal proceedings, and a reconstituted inquiry committee — the current membership having drawn objections over impartiality. One item in the students' list of demands was a review process kept entirely separate from existing institutional structures, with panel members holding no prior involvement in caste discrimination matters.
Among their demands were prompt revisions to how the institution handles student welfare protections and the procedures governing disciplinary matters. The students also called for provisions aimed at giving Sahil's family a greater sense of safety on campus, along with an immediate removal of Professor Doolla from all duties. A further demand called for the disbanding of the existing inquiry panel, whose neutrality students have questioned on the grounds that certain members have openly expressed support for Professor Doolla.
Among the structural changes sought by students is a restructuring of the Student Welfare Committee, with calls for biannual independent audits and a requirement that whoever holds the Dean of Students' Welfare post carry a medical qualification. A further proposal calls for a dedicated online portal where Disciplinary Action Committee proceedings can be tracked, with the aim of keeping stakeholders informed and the process open to scrutiny.
Students also called for a shift away from punitive disciplinary measures toward a rehabilitation-based model, and pressed for the SCST Cell to be restructured in line with University Grants Commission guidelines to address caste-based discrimination more effectively. Among their demands, the group has also sought guarantees that those who participated in demonstrations would be protected from retaliatory measures.
The protest fast continued, with participants citing what they described as an unresponsive administration, and they pledged to maintain it until tangible steps toward change were taken.
