CHENNAI: A bunch of IIT-Madras students plan to hold a 'Hug Day' on Monday in front of the office of the institute's Dean of Students to encourage students to hug each other. They will also collect signatures for petition that would be submitted to the dean. By hugging, they will be protesting the recent incident of moral policing on campus, in which a female student was shamed by a staff member for hugging a male friend.
"We are a bunch of students who are fed up with being harassed by various people on campus, who are policing us, always spying to find whom we hang out with and how we get dressed or conduct ourselves. If you have been at the receiving end of such moral policing, do tell us what you have had to face. We will be attaching relevant stories of moral policing with the petition we are going to submit to the dean (anonymity of the respondent will be kept intact) regarding the issue," reads the petition form that has been widely circulated on the campus.
A poster with #GiveHugToday and #AgainstMoralPolicing was also being shared on social media platforms. A student organiser told *Express* that the response from the institute's administration to complaints of moral policing or harassment was pathetic.
The female student, whose photos and videos were clicked by the staff member and who was harassed subsequently, told Express that a detailed email had been sent to the administration on the issue. "Our demands are very basic. However, both the dean and director have chosen not to take any action or even acknowledge the email," she said. IIT Madras officials were not available for comment.