Open in deed

NALSAR University’s initiative is much-needed and enormously welcome. It demonstrates the kind of change that other educational institutions can also implement in order to create campuses that are safe and welcoming for all students. It also shows how, very often, the most important changes come not through top-down fiat, but through conversations and movements on the ground. At NALSAR University, active engagement with the student community led to the draft Policy on Inclusive Education for Gender and Sexual Minorities. Apart from ensuring students “reasonable accommodation in alignment with their preferred gender identity”, the interim policy, which is currently in place to address concerns of LGBTQI+ students, also states that name and pronoun changes shall be available to anyone. In addition, self-identification would only require a self-attested declaration and would be the basis for recognition of gender identity and sexual orientation in the university. By thus honouring its students’ wishes in relation to how they self-identify, and prioritising this over the rigid lines that are enforced elsewhere, NALSAR University shows a commitment to inclusivity that is still all too rare.

Following the NALSA v Union of India judgment of the Supreme Court in 2014, which recognised transgender people as the “third gender”, the University Grants Commission had issued a circular in 2015 to the vice-chancellors of all universities that “TG-friendly infrastructure like washrooms, restrooms etc” be built. But movement even on the basic suggestions in this circular — which made no mention of gender-neutral accommodation — has been far too slow, raising concerns that “inclusivity”, which is also one of the goals mentioned in the National Education Policy, remains, in many areas, a mere buzzword. By listening to its students, NALSAR University has set a good example of how promising words can be translated into meaningful action.