BENGALURU: Students of the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, staged a massive protest on Tuesday night over lack of hostel facilities and “second-class treatment” of women in campus residential facilities. Hundreds of students gathered on the basketball court at 10 pm on Tuesday night and continued until 4 am on Wednesday morning. The students pointed out the inconsistency in the facilities provided in the boys hostel and the girls hostel. The men’s hostel has 75 double bedrooms, while women have only 40. Instead, women are given 93 three-layer bunk beds (while men have only 18). Men have three times more three-bed cubicle rooms and eight times more non-bunk triple sharing than women. In a scathing letter to the management, the students alleged that it was not just a coincidence how the rooms were allotted, but a “gross malpractice”. “When currently the ratio of women (and other gender minorities) to men is almost equal, why is there such a stark disparity in the number of bunk beds in women’s hostels vs. men’s hostels?… It is now clear and plain that women are being treated like cattle on this campus. Women’s hostels for the past three days..” the letter said. The students said that they have been facing shortage of water in the girls’ hostels and intermittent power outages in the campus for the past few days. “The rooms are not ventilated as the beds are pushed towards the windows to make room for more beds. The fans are inadequate. While we requested for more fans, some were installed. But within a short period of time, many people stopped working, and there were cases of it collapsing,” said a student. “There is no power. We wake up every morning sweating, only to find that there is no water. It is sad that NLSIU is considered the best law school in the country,” said another student. The protest started with the girls, got a united voice and soon the boys joined in too. They gathered near the faculty quarters. The students demanded that they meet the Vice-Chancellor but to no avail. Registrar and Campus Director met the students. “We understand the red tape in the institute. So we demand that we meet the VC so that our voice is heard,” said a student. Students are expected to meet the faculty again on Wednesday. “This is the premier law school in the country. But the infrastructure is not enough to support the growing number of students in the campus. We don’t even have basic facilities in the hostels,” said another student. NLSIU has also come under fire in the past for its inadequate hostel facilities for students as it expanded its intake. NLSIU did not respond by the time this article was published.
