Following student protests at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) over inadequate hostel facilities and gender discrimination in room allocation, Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy has issued a detailed email to the student community, assuring them of significant changes.
Background of the Protests
Students staged a protest on Tuesday night, highlighting the lack of water and electricity in hostels and the disparity in facilities provided in boys' and girls' hostels. The students described the room allocation process as "blatant misogyny at its finest" and accused the administration of treating women "like cattle" on campus.
VC's Response and Assurances
In his email, the VC assured students that the administration would revisit allocations for the 2026-27 academic year and explore off-campus residences. "As you have raised concerns about disproportionate gender impact, we will revisit allocations for the year 2026-27. On May 13, we paused the process of hostel room allocation. We will explore reassigning hostels and securing new student residences outside the campus," he stated.
Addressing the specific complaint about girls being given three-tier bunk beds while boys received regular cots, Krishnaswamy explained that the decision was based on room dimensions and efficient resource allocation, not gender. "Identification of rooms for the addition of bunk beds in different hostel blocks was done primarily on the basis of room size and dimensions of existing rooms. This was driven by the goal of efficient allocation of existing resources, not the gender of hostel occupants," he clarified.
Infrastructure and Capacity Expansion
The VC highlighted that hostel facilities have been incrementally increased to keep pace with the expansion of student intake. NLSIU now has the capacity to accommodate 1,693 students, up from 530 in 2020.
Immediate Measures Taken
Krishnaswamy noted that "extraordinary efforts" were made over the past two days to ensure round-the-clock water supply across the campus. These measures include increasing the number of maintenance staff available 24/7, enhancing the frequency of inspections of storage and drinking water, implementing backup measures for power outages, and replenishing water tanks.
Safety measures have also been upgraded with expanded CCTV coverage, regular patrolling, barbed wire fencing, and the removal of a bus stop seating area previously used by unidentified individuals. The administration has promised further infrastructural, administrative, and vendor changes to improve service delivery. The VC has committed to addressing all issues by May 20.
Student Demands and Ongoing Dialogue
During an open house with the VC on Wednesday, students raised 18 specific issues. While Krishnaswamy initially stated he would respond within seven days, students demanded a reply within 24 hours. A student remarked, "Many of the issues were not addressed in the email. Hence, we are drafting specific demands." The situation remains dynamic as students continue to press for immediate resolutions.
