IIT-B dumps ‘dangerous’ birthday bumps

IIT-B dumps ‘dangerous’ birthday bumps

Mumbai: The tradition of giving birthday bumps to friends, practised in most students’ hostels, has been banned on the IIT-B’s Powai campus. Considered to be a source of great fun in the hostels, it is now seen as a potential danger to the physical well-being of the students. Though, the students’ version of it—spraying deodorant and lighting the back on fire, bathing the birthday boy with garbage bin full of ants, lifting a student to bash him up, hitting the student with slippers or belt—does sound scary. Following some cases of injuries caused due to the bumps —‘GPL’ in IIT-B lingo—the institute has called for a ban on the ‘custom’ followed religiously in the hostels. IIT-B students divided over ban on ‘violent’ birthday bumps
Mumbai: The IIT-B authorities have sent out a notice banning the practice of birthday bumps. In the notice officials have asked all students to refrain from such activities and also stated that birthday bumps will be treated on a par with ragging and the same norms will be applicable.
    In the institute’s circular, the officials have also threatened students of stringent action, without specifying the nature of punishment. General secretaries of the hostels have been made responsible for implementation of the ban.
    Even before the issuance of such a notice, the authorities did not have any reported cases in hand, as the birthday boys or rather ‘victims’ refused to complain against their own friends.
    So far, only informal complaints have been received, and after the notice, no fresh, even informal, cases have been reported.
    “A note against this practice was also issued by the student affairs’ office before. I just reiterated it as because of some reports that they go out of hand once in a while,” said U A Yajnik, dean, student affairs.
    Several students said it is the first time that such a stringent ban has been imposed. It also made hostel councils responsible for such activities.
    While some students on the campus are all for the ban, some said they have continued with the practice on campus and flouted the norms.
    The students’ magazine, Insight, recently carried an article that presented both sides of the ‘GPL’ practice on campus.
    “People would be ready to bear the brunt of a huge mob just because it shows that they have a large following and a good social circle’, argued a pro-GPL student in the article.