IIT Kharagpur has officially withdrawn a policy that enforced seating segregation in hostel dining halls based on vegetarian and non-vegetarian food preferences.

The decision comes three weeks after a directive was issued on August 16 to residents of the BR Ambedkar Hall of Residence, instructing them to follow designated seating arrangements for vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. Alumni and former faculty condemned the directive, raising concerns that it promotes divisions.

In a notice circulated to all hall wardens, the institute stated: “It is hereby advised to all the Halls of Residence that the segregation of mess food in terms of vegetarian, non-vegetarian, Jain and other categories should be done only at the levels of preparation and distribution. There must not be any such segregation for seating in the dining hall.”

IIT Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty said the institute firmly opposes any form of seating segregation based on food habits.

“Segregating dining tables based on vegetarian or non-vegetarian preference is not the business of an academic institution. As soon as we were made aware of the situation at BR Ambedkar Hall, we intervened. No signage suggesting segregation will be permitted in any hall,” Chakraborty told Metro on Tuesday.

A Metro report on September 7 detailed the enforcement of separate seating zones in the Ambedkar Hall mess. A sign reading “only veg” had been placed in front of a row of tables, drawing criticism that such practices went against the inclusive spirit of higher education.

The August 16 directive was reportedly issued in response to complaints about students eating eggs, fish, or chicken at tables designated for vegetarians. The hall’s general secretary (mess) had said that around 300 of the hall’s 1,300 residents were vegetarians, and it was at their demand that the segregation was enforced.

The policy was overturned by the Hall Management Centre — the body that oversees hostel policies — in a notice issued on the evening of September 7.

Similar practices have reportedly been adopted in other hostels, with IIT Kharagpur’s Madan Mohan Malviya Hall separating entire floors based on food preferences.

Anupam Basu, former head of the computer science and engineering department at IIT Kharagpur, welcomed the rollback. Earlier, he had strongly criticised the segregation as “divisive and regressive”.

“I was stunned to hear that this was being implemented in a hostel named after BR Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution, who fought against discrimination and social exclusion all his life. This shows that while we may name buildings after Ambedkar, we often neglect his ideals,” said Basu, now Raja Ramanna Chair Professor at Jadavpur University.

“I hope the course correction is implemented fully,” he added.

Former residents of Ambedkar Hall had expressed dismay. “Such divisions were unheard of even a few years ago,” one former research scholar said.

“Higher education institutes should break social barriers, not reinforce them,” said another former research scholar. “The policy was reversed only after sharp criticism, but why was it allowed in the first place?”

IIT Kharagpur, India’s oldest IIT, is currently marking its platinum jubilee year.