SV Krishna Chaitanya By Express News Service CHENNAI: IIT Madras banned its students from wearing black during a visit by Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday evening. The institute has issued a circular to students, listing out a set of “important” instructions, including banning any videography/photography, electronic equipment or gadgets, and even carry bags. Students were also asked to carry ID cards for security checks. Several student groups have criticised the instruction that reads - students are not allowed to wear black shirts/tops. “This is the first time IIT-M has officially banned wearing black to attend a lecture,” a student said. The Vice-President is scheduled to address the institute at 5 pm on Saturday, on the topic, ‘India 2020 to 2030: Gen Y’s vision for the decade’. “Two months back, when Krishna Gate was closed, some of us held a ‘black shirt’ protest,” said a student associated with Chintabar, an IIT-M students’ collective, adding the administration might have banned black anticipating similar protests. Two days back, students at Pondicherry University had protested before Naidu during the convocation on February 26. Earlier, when the Prime Minister attended a convocation, police had imposed an unofficial ban on wearing black. The traditional convocation gowns were also replaced with a formal white dress and IIT-M ‘angavasthiram’.

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