Hundreds of students at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru held a night-long protest on campus, raising concerns over inadequate amenities in women's hostels, alleged second-class treatment of female students, and what they described as blatant misogyny in the room-allotment process. The protest began at the basketball court around 10 p.m. on Tuesday and continued until 4 a.m. on Wednesday. Male students also showed up in large numbers to express solidarity with their female peers.
Vice-Chancellor Responds
Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor of the premier law school, met the students on Wednesday afternoon and listened to their grievances. According to a student, the V-C stated that he would provide a written response within 7 to 10 days. Earlier, the university registrar and campus director had met the protesters, but no immediate resolution was reached.
Infrastructure Challenges
The 23-acre Bengaluru campus, which has faced criticism in the past regarding hostel facilities, has struggled to upgrade its infrastructure in line with the rapid expansion of its programs, which are attracting an increasing number of students. The campus currently accommodates 1,734 students. There are five hostels for men and six for women, but the room allocation process has been described as opaque. Disparities in facilities have also sparked discontent.
Disparity in Accommodation
While men's hostels have 75 double bedrooms, women have only 40. Instead, women are provided with 93 three-tier bunk beds, compared to just 18 for men. Men also have more than three times the number of three-bed cubicle rooms and eight times the non-bunk triple-sharing rooms compared to women. In a letter to the administration, students highlighted that the ratio of men to women (and other gender minorities) is nearly equal, yet there is a severe disparity in bunk bed allocation. The letter stated, "It's clear as a cloudless day that women are being treated like cattle on this campus. There's no water in most of the women's hostels for three days."
List of Complaints
The list of grievances included cots pushed against windows to make space for more beds, lack of ventilation, insufficient or non-functional fans, power outages, and irregular water supply. One student described the condition of the hostel as "pathetic." Additionally, students raised safety concerns about ongoing construction on campus during academic activities. Recently, a concrete slab fell in a common area; although no one was injured, students said it highlighted serious safety risks.
Expansion Plans
Under the NLSIU Inclusion and Expansion Plan 2021-25, the student intake was slated to increase from 660 to 2,200 by 2028-29. The total intake for the flagship five-year integrated LLB program is now 310, compared to 80 earlier. In 2024, TOI reported on the shortage of hostel rooms for local students. At that time, the university stated it had increased the number of hostel rooms from 552 to 1,152 in three years and was awaiting further expansion. Campus expansion has been a challenge for NLSIU. In 2024, the university managed to secure seven acres of land from the state government in exchange for 10 supernumerary seats for Kannadigas, though it had requested 17 acres.
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