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IIT Bombay: Only 5 SC, 6 OBC Professors Among 412, RTI Reveals Amid Suicide Scrutiny
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News18•27-09-2026, 13:55
IIT Bombay: Only 5 SC, 6 OBC Professors Among 412, RTI Reveals Amid Suicide Scrutiny
- •RTI data shows only 5 SC and 6 OBC professors among 412 at IIT Bombay, with no ST professors, amidst controversy over a Dalit student's alleged suicide.
- •The low representation of SC, ST, and OBC faculty members at IIT Bombay is highlighted by an RTI filed by Gowd Kiran Kumar of the All India OBC Students Association.
- •The data comes amid scrutiny following the death of Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old student, whose parents allege caste-based torture, while the institute claims he was counselled.
- •As of September, IIT Bombay has 363 faculty members at associate and assistant professor levels, with 29 SC, 8 ST, and 35 OBC individuals.
- •Gowd Kiran Kumar argues that the data exposes deep-rooted caste discrimination in faculty recruitment and questions how institutions can address caste discrimination faced by students without diverse faculty representation.
Key Questions Answered
According to RTI data accessed by the Hindustan Times, there were only five Scheduled Caste (SC) and six Other Backward Classes (OBC) professors among 412 total professors at IIT Bombay as of September 2026, with no representation from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
The institute faced intense scrutiny following the alleged suicide of Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old student who died by suicide earlier in September 2026 after being caught using a smartphone to cheat during a mid-semester examination.
The RTI data regarding the representation of marginalized communities among the faculty was filed by Gowd Kiran Kumar, the chairperson of the All India OBC Students Association.
