DEHRADUN: IIT Roorkee has said an internal advisory asking members of its campus community to follow conduct rules was a routine annual communication, after it drew criticism amid widening student protests over recruitment irregularities and alleged paper leaks.
The clarification came as calls for nationwide support intensified following a police lathicharge on protesting students at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Critics said the institute’s email appeared to discourage students from associating with the ongoing agitation.
The controversy placed the engineering institute on the defensive, with the timing and wording of the message drawing particular scrutiny. The institute, however, maintained that the communication announced no fresh directive or policy and reflected only existing rules.
IIT Roorkee Media Cell in-charge Sonika Srivastava told TNIE that the message was circulated among students, faculty and staff at the beginning of every academic session.
“Similar advisories are routinely issued every year in accordance with the institute’s existing notified conduct rules and do not constitute any new directive or policy,” she said. “The communication should not be misinterpreted or viewed out of context.”
The email, sent on Monday, referred to social media posts in which some “campus inmates” had shown affinity with political movements through public comments and criticism. It reminded students and employees that the institute’s purpose was teaching, research, and the advancement and dissemination of knowledge.
Citing notified conduct rules, the advisory said no student or employee should join a political discussion or activity without prior permission. It also cautioned against making statements in broadcast, print, electronic or social media that could embarrass relations between the institute and the Centre, other organisations, or members of the public.
“All are advised to adhere to these guidelines,” it said.
Meanwhile, the agitation spread to Uttarakhand, where Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India activists protested against alleged recruitment scams and paper leaks.
At Gairsain’s main junction, demonstrators burnt an effigy of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, raised slogans and questioned the functioning of the Centre and examination agencies. They demanded Pradhan’s resignation on moral grounds.
Gairsain Nagar Panchayat chairman Mohan Bhandari said the agitation concerned much more than one examination or recruitment drive.
“It is a question of the future of crores of young people and the credibility of the education system,” he said, urging youth across Uttarakhand and the country to unite against corruption and paper leaks.
District Congress general secretary Pradeep Kunwar alleged that repeated paper leaks and recruitment scams during the BJP’s 12 years in power had jeopardised students’ futures. He said the Union Education Minister should accept moral responsibility and step down.
