New Delhi- Who teaches inside India’s most prestigious classrooms? Do institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) truly reflect the country’s social diversity? An analysis presented by RJD Spokesperson Dr. Kanchana Yadav, based entirely on official RTI data, claims that reservation norms are being systematically ignored across IITs, resulting in minimal representation of backward communities.
The analysis is founded on information obtained through an RTI application filed in 2024 by Kiran Kumar, President of the All India OBC Students Association. The queries were straightforward: the total number of sanctioned faculty posts, the category-wise breakdown of filled posts, and the category-wise status of vacant posts across multiple IITs and AIIMS. The replies from 18 IITs have painted a startling picture.
The data from IIT Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee, BHU, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Gandhinagar, Ropar, Palakkad, Mandi, Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Tirupati, Dharwad, Goa, and Patna reveals a recurring theme: a significant overrepresentation of the General category and a severe shortfall in the representation of OBC, SC, and ST communities compared to constitutional norms (OBC 27%, SC 15%, ST 7.5%).
IIT Palakkad: Out of 161 faculty members, 121 (75.15%) are from the General category, OBC 24 (14.9%), SC 15 (9.31%), and only 1 (0.62%) from the ST category. There is not a single SC or ST professor at the institute.
IIT BHU (Varanasi): Of the 344 faculty members, 79.36% are General, 11.63% OBC, 7.85% SC, and only 1.16% ST. The institute has 260 vacant posts out of 608 sanctioned, but failed to provide a category-wise breakup of these vacancies.
IIT Kharagpur: This large institute has 775 faculty members, with the General category holding a dominant 91.22% share. OBC representation is a mere 5.55%, SC is 2.71%, and ST is a negligible 0.26%. A staggering 825 out of 1600 sanctioned posts are vacant, with no category-wise data provided.
IIT Gandhinagar: Among 135 faculty, 85.93% are from the General category, OBC 5.93%, SC 5.91%, and ST 2.96%. At the Professor level, representation from OBC, SC, and ST is zero.
IIT Ropar: Out of 177 faculty, 78.53% are General, 14.69% OBC, 5.65% SC, and 1.69% ST.
IIT Patna: One of the few institutes to provide category-wise sanctioned post data. Out of 390 sanctioned posts, 228 are filled. Of the filled positions, OBC constitutes 38.16%, SC 21.49%, and ST 12.72%, figures that are relatively better than other IITs.
IIT Roorkee: Has 939 sanctioned posts, but only 533 are filled. The institute did not provide any category-wise breakdown for sanctioned, filled, or vacant posts.
IIT Tirupati: Of the 114 faculty, 69.30% are General, 18.42% OBC, 8.77% SC, and 2.63% ST.
IIT Mandi: Out of 175 faculty, 81.14% are General, 11.43% OBC, 5.71% SC, and 1.71% ST. At the Professor level, there are zero OBC, SC, and ST faculty members.
IIT Bhubaneswar: Among 213 faculty, 80.28% are General, 13.15% OBC, 5.63% SC, and just 0.46% ST.
IIT Jodhpur: Of the 244 faculty, 79.10% are General, 13.11% OBC, 6.15% SC, and 0.82% ST.
IIT Delhi: Out of 633 faculty, an overwhelming 88.94% are from the General category. OBC representation is just 7.11%, SC 2.68%, and ST 1.10%. The institute has 460 vacant posts out of 1093 sanctioned, with no category-wise details of these vacancies.
IIT Goa: Of the 62 faculty, 67.74% are General, 19.35% OBC, 8.06% SC, and 1.61% ST.
IIT Indore: Another institute that provided detailed data. Of the 92 faculty, 50% are General, 32.61% OBC, 15.22% SC, and 2.17% ST.
IIT Guwahati: Among 454 faculty, 88.11% are General, 5.07% OBC, 4.84% SC, and 1.98% ST. The institute reported 103 General vacancies, 78 OBC vacancies, 44 SC vacancies, and 22 ST vacancies.
IIT Hyderabad: Of the 322 faculty, 74.84% are General, 15.84% OBC, 8.07% SC, and 0.93% ST.
IIT Dharwad: Among 93 faculty, 72.04% are General, 17.20% OBC, 5.38% SC, and 3.27% ST.
IIT Kanpur: Out of 564 faculty, 87.41% are from the General category. OBC representation is just 7.80%, SC is 4.26%, and ST is a mere 0.89%. At the Professor level, there are only 3 OBCs, and zero SCs and STs.
The analysis concludes that the lack of representation is most acute at the Professor level. While a few OBC, SC, and ST faculty are present at the Assistant Professor level, their numbers dwindle drastically at the Associate Professor level and often reach zero at the Professor level. This suggests that even if candidates from reserved categories enter the system, they face barriers in promotions, effectively preventing them from reaching decision-making positions such as Deans or Heads of Departments.
The report argues that this data is not a matter of opinion but an "uncomfortable truth" revealed by official government data. It indicates that despite constitutional mandates, reservation policies are not being implemented in letter and spirit in India's most elite academic institutions.