Society (2022) 59:714–722

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-022-00761-5

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Community Building and Exclusion: The Role of Food in University

Hostels in New Delhi
Rituparna Patgiri 1

Accepted: 11 August 2022 / Published online: 8 September 2022

# The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022

Abstract
In this paper, I seek to explore the social nature of food in university hostels in India’s capital city of New Delhi. With the
increasing migration of students from smaller cities and towns to bigger cities searching for employment and education oppor-
tunities, hostels have become a preferred choice of accommodation because of their affordability and security. For many
marginalised and economically poor students, these hostels are the only spaces where they can afford to live and eat. At the
same time, hostels and university campuses have recently been in the spotlight as sites of resistance and social action. Discussions
and debates around hostel fee hikes and food politics mean that there is a need to understand what hostel food represents for
migrant students. While there is an attempt by universities to use hostel food to promote togetherness and belongingness, hostel
food is also met with counter meanings. A study of hostel food offers us a lens to better understand the sources of contestation
within the university and the reasons for protests by migrating students living in hostels.

Keywords Food . Migration . University . Student . Hostels . Community . Exclusion . India

Introduction bread became very popular as “quarantine recipes” among

the wealthy.
When we think of food, diverse images pop up in our minds. Some sociological works have explored the relationship
Increasing digitisation and the presence of social media in our between food and educational institutions across cultures.
lives mean that there has been extensive visual coverage of all For instance, in the UK, the school meal is seen as a symbolic
kinds of food — from the finest restaurants to our own occasion that builds unity and cohesion among students (Lalli
kitchens. Be it fast food, healthy food or gourmet food — 2020). There has also been a study of the German Mensa
representations, images, stories, videos, blogs and vlogs — (canteens) in universities and how they impact one’s food
are everywhere. Food has occupied a central place in public choices and patterns (Einhorn 2020).
discourse even during the COVID-19 pandemic — from be- What, however, is missing from these discussions and rep-
ing a suspect of the cause (bat meat) (Patgiri 2020b) to a resentations is hostel food — that is, the food served in student
distraction for the upper and middle classes who have engaged residence halls. In this paper, I seek to explore the social na-
in cooking/baking as a leisure activity (Patgiri 2020a). Of ture of food in university hostels in India’s capital city of New
course, even before the pandemic, French sociologist Pierre Delhi. The term “social” is sometimes used to indicate those
Bourdieu had argued that one’s taste in food is determined by manners of acting, thinking and feeling that are seen as exter-
one’s social position (Bourdieu 1979). Therefore, one could nal to the individual and that contribute to collective solidarity
comprehend “creative” cooking practices and uploading im- and integration (Durkheim 1982). Here, I use the term “social”
ages on social media during the pandemic as an upper- and to mean both the community building and coercive character
middle-class trend. Dishes like Dalgona coffee and banana of food that creates interactive, inter-relational, cooperative,
and sometimes conflictual, relationships between people.
Food is a social process from production to consumption
* Rituparna Patgiri (Beardsworth and Keil 1997; Taylor Sen 2015; Patgiri
missrituparnapatgiri@gmail.com
2016). Since the hostels explored in this paper are primarily
1
Department of Sociology, Indraprastha College for Women,
cosmopolitan, it becomes vital to look at the intersection of
University of Delhi, New Delhi 110057, India food with the diverse social identities of their residents.
Society (2022) 59:714–722 715

Importance of Hostels as Public Spaces tell us that migrating individuals or communities make firm
for Students attempts to hold on to their traditional food habits. Food
becomes an instrument to maintain and display their ethnic
With the increasing migration of students from smaller cities and national identities (Srinivas 2006; Saunders 2007).
and towns to bigger cities searching for employment and ed- How does one understand the position of the heterogeneous
ucation opportunities within India (Mcduie-Ra 2012a, b), hos- and diverse migrant students living in hostels where they
tels have become a preferred choice of accommodation be- are served a universal, standardised menu? What is their
cause of their affordability and security. Universities institu- relationship to existing ideas of community and identity? I
tionally operate hostels with a provost, a warden, a caretaker argue that a study of hostel food in New Delhi helps answer
and a mess. They are often located on university campuses, these questions.
and the mess food is provided at subsidised rates.
In fact, for many women, it would be very challenging to
come to a new city and set up residence if not for hostel The Setting and Methods Employed
accommodations. Many families may not allow indepen-
dent staying arrangements. Hostels thus play a crucial role New Delhi — the capital city of India — is considered to be an
in building relationships in young people’s lives, particu- educational hub as it houses many premier institutes like the
larly migrant and women students. Although hostels have University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University
also been critiqued for regulating women’s freedom (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI), Indian
through their strict rules about timings and visitors (Zaidi Institute of Technology (IIT), South Asian University (SAU)
2019), one of the significant demands of student groups and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Students
during the pandemic has been to loosen the regulations from all across the country move to the city to study in these
(Ara 2021). This is because many students, particularly institutions (Kawoosa 2019) and then live in various kinds of
women, perceive these hostels to be spaces that offer them accommodation — university hostels, private hostels, paid
a chance to live independently. guest (PG) arrangements, rented apartments etc. Among other
In recent years, hostels from two premier universities in things, they also have to adjust to the food in a new city. The
India — Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Jamia Millia food served in their hostels is their first initiation to new social
Islamia University (JMI) — have been in the limelight for habits, thereby being a perfect entry point to understand ques-
multiple reasons, notably the proposed fee hike and the result- tions of community and migration. In this article, the hostel is
ing students’ protests against the decision (Roychowdhury treated as an extension of the university as a public space
2020). Hostels are seen as sites of resistance and social action (Pathania 2018; Gundemeda 2020).
(Arunima 2017; Pathania 2018). Both universities are located My experiences of having lived in multiple hostels in Delhi
in India’s capital — New Delhi. One of the reasons JNU saw for almost 11 years shaped my academic interest in under-
large-scale student protests in 2019 was the proposed fee hike standing the various meanings of hostel food. Thus, auto-
specifically for hostel accommodation and food. For many ethnography is the first method I have used to frame this essay
marginalised and economically poor students coming from to make sense of my own personal experiences and academic
smaller cities, towns and villages, these hostels are the only pursuits (Mills 1959) and connect the self to society
spaces where they can afford to live and eat. We will see that (Chaudhuri 2020). The two field sites — Jawaharlal Nehru
the story of hostel food is also the story of migrating students University (JNU) and the University of Delhi (DU) — are not
and their relationship with the city of New Delhi. random selections but chosen based on my lived experiences.
The role of food in integrating individuals into the commu- These two universities are also located in two opposite parts of
nity has been much discussed in sociological literature. The the city — JNU in South Delhi and DU in North Delhi (the
functionalist school of thought looks at how food contributes main campus).
to the continuity of a social system. Durkheim, for instance, The two universities have many outstation students
has looked at the various cultural and social meanings that (those coming from outside Delhi) residing in their hostels,
food conveys in simple societies and how food helps in cutting across caste, class, ethnicity, religion and region.
developing a communitarian attitude (Durkheim 1912). There are currently eighteen hostels in JNU and seventeen
The social significance of food lies in its role in maintaining hostels in DU, while a few others are being constructed.
social relationships and organisations through various pro- While JNU is a residential university with all its hostels
hibitions and prescriptions. Food-related rituals and taboos housed on one campus, DU’s North campus is relatively
are seen as facilitating the individual’s socialisation within scattered. The latter cuts across other neighbouring residen-
the community (Beardsworth and Keil 1997). tial and business areas.
The food served in their hostels is among their first en- Having spent 2 years of my student life at DU and six in
counters with the food of a new place. Pre-existing studies JNU’s hostels, I had an insider’s access to what happens
716 Society (2022) 59:714–722

within these premises. Choosing these familiar spaces as field Ideas of Community Building and Hostel Food
sites gave me easier access to many areas. The knowledge of
local histories and backgrounds aided in choosing the field The communitarian role of food, as earlier described, is
sites. It is essential to spend sufficient time in the field to stressed by universities that believe that a common mess
understand it. As I was already familiar with the field, it was and eating together can promote social interaction between
easier for me to “exploit” it (Goffman 1989). My hostel life in students. It is not just university authorities but even stu-
DU began in August 2012 and continued until March 2020 in dents who believe that. Most undergraduate students living
JNU. in hostels argue that having a common dining hall helps
However, at the same time, being an insider meant that develop relationships as they get an opportunity to meet
there were challenges. Often, I struggled with what is data and interact with fellow students. For instance, Roshni,1
and what is not (Barua 1999). What seemed like everyday an undergraduate student at the University of Delhi, was
and mundane things needed to be re-understood from a socio- the only student from her school in Madhubani, Bihar, to
logical vantage point. The balance between being a study at DU. She did not know anybody else in the hostel,
fieldworker and being a part of the field at the same time is and it was during meal timings that she “met people” and
not the easiest to maintain and comes with its share of benefits “made friends”.
and burdens, advantages and problems. There are “methodo-
logical, ethical and interpretive consequences” of researching When I had come to Delhi, I did not know anybody. I
familiar sites (Rapp 2000: 14). was allotted a double-seater in the hostel, but my room-
Little things that had otherwise seemed insignificant now mate had not been assigned yet. So, for the initial month,
suddenly seemed interesting, revealing patterns that had been I was very alone in the hostel as my friends in college
earlier invisible. Additionally, most of the people I are mostly from Delhi. It is only in the mess during meal
interviewed were friends or acquaintances or were contacted times that I would meet people. I gradually started eating
through them. They were people whom I may not have per- together with two girls from my floor, and we became
sonally known, but had co-existed with in the hostels for a friends.
long time. In a way, it made the task simpler and more com-
plex (Author 2021). Simpler because it was easier to reach Roshni stresses the importance of “eating together” in cre-
intimacy in conversations more quickly. More complex be- ating new social relationships and friendships. Another stu-
cause it meant there was a need to be subtle in my approach, dent in the undergraduate hostel at DU, Kiran, says that
careful with what to ask of whom, given that I would continue spending time and eating food together has become an in-
to meet these people after the research was over. Thus, one tegral part of her life. “I do not even drink tea but still go to
had to balance between being a researcher and an acquain- the mess during evening tea time because I get to meet my
tance or friend. friends and talk.”
Apart from auto-ethnography, the other methods that The significance of the shared meal can be found in socio-
have fuelled my study are participant and non-participant logical literature. It is argued that a shared meal helps families
observation, and interviews and conversations with stu- maintain their affection and bond (Douglas 1972; Counihan
dents living in these hostels. While auto-ethnographic ex- 2004). Hostel authorities themselves emphasise the relation-
periences and observation can be put in the timeline from ship between food and community building. There are strict
2012 to 2019, most of the interviews were conducted in rules in many hostels that food cannot be taken to the rooms
2019 and 2020. During this period, I spoke to sixty people and eaten; hostellers have to eat in their respective mess. It is
— out of which thirty-six are women, and twenty-four are believed that eating together helps in building a hostel com-
men. These were students, mess managers and hostel com- munity. The essence of the community or the Gemeinschaft,
mittee members. The disproportionate ratio of women to as defined by Ferdinand Tönnies, lies in the social bond that
men was because I had easier access to women and was stems from it (Tönnies 2001), and food plays a critical role in
not intentional. creating and maintaining that social bond. Food is a metaphor
While some of these conversations — thirty — were in for friendship and harmony in hostels (Pathania and Tierney
person, twenty of them were telephonic. Apart from gender, 2018). At the same time, the idea of community is a variable
the respondents are diverse in caste, class, religion and age. construct that holds a variety of contradictory meanings
The sample population also has considerable regional diversi- around which diverse social practices and understandings take
ty as they come from different states like Assam, West Bengal, place (Hill Collins 2010).
Manipur, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh. This was a conscious choice as I had felt that speak-
ing to people of different geographical regions would enrich 1
The names of all respondents have been changed to protect their anonymity.
my findings. Also, consent was sought to include their quotes in this paper.
Society (2022) 59:714–722 717

Hostel Food and Special Occasions try to create an environment where students feel they belong
to a community that cares for their needs. Celebrations and
The integrative role of food, scholars have observed, is partic- festivals are integral ways in which this feeling of belonging-
ularly important during festivals and rites (Conlon in ness is created and maintained.
Breckenridge 1995; Dube 1998; Taylor Sen 2015). Students also appreciate some of the measures that hostels
University hostels, too, promote this idea through “festival take to make them feel at home. For instance, almost every
special” foods. For instance, almost all hostels of both DU hostel has a “special dinner” every month. The special dinner
and JNU serve gujiya — a sweet made with suji or flour has an elaborate menu with starters, main course and dessert.
stuffed with a mixture of sweetened khoa and dried fruits — Residents eagerly look forward to these special dinners. They
during Holi. Similarly, during Lohri, a bonfire is lit, and stu- can also invite guests from other hostels, and the price of the
dents are given special snacks. Since many students coming guest meals is included in the respective residents’ mess bill.
from nearby places leave for their hometowns during festivals, To cite another instance of authorities making students feel at
there is an attempt to celebrate them in the hostels to make home, they would keep tea and coffee dispensers outside the
those who cannot or choose not to go back feel “like family”. mess during exam time in some hostels. The hostel authorities
Says Purva, a postgraduate student at JNU: are aware that students stay up late to study and hence provide
tea and coffee.
I have spent almost every lohri in the hostel as the se- Similarly, there is also the provision of “sick food” for
mester begins in January, and I cannot go back home [to unwell residents. While it can be seen as a basic amenity that
Himachal Pradesh]. But I enjoy the lohri here. We light should be there in every hostel, it plays a role in enforcing the
a bonfire every year after dinner, and it is a lot of fun. feeling of belonging to a family and/or a community
We get special lohri snacks like popcorn and peanuts (Appadurai 1981). The boundaries of a community are not
and enjoy the bonfire. just physical — they are also symbolic in that they represent
inclusion and integration (Azzopardi 2011), and food plays a
The hostels also pay attention to providing special foods dur- significant role in it.
ing those festivals when many residents might be fasting. For
instance, most hostels in DU would provide brat ka khana
(fasting food) on Navaratri, a festival celebrated by Hindus
in many parts of India. Students who celebrate Navaratri fast Identity and Exclusion: Whose Idea
for 9 days and have specific food requirements. They have to of the Community?
avoid eggs, meat, garlic, onion, wheat and lentils and hence
need specific brat ka khana. The idea is to avoid “hot” and However, many would argue that this idea of the community
“spicy” food items (Taylor Sen 2015). Therefore, they are is exclusive and does not include them. In a country like India,
given food items that they can eat, like sabudana, and fruits. food has had deep associations with questions of identity
Similarly, hostels also take care of dietary restrictions dur- (Khare in Khare and Rao 1986, Kikon in Bhushi 2018) like
ing the month of Ramzan, when many residents who are caste, class, ethnicity, gender, religion and ethnicity. Food
Muslims fast. They can pack food during dinner to have it in scholars have argued that there is, in fact, nothing called a
the morning. Items like dates, fruits and sweets are given “national cuisine” or a “national dish” in India (Appadurai
during iftar. Alam, a PhD student at JNU, says: 1988). Every region has its specific cooking style and spice
template. In this context, food from the northeastern2 region
It is not difficult to fast during Ramzan even when becomes significant, as many stereotypes are attached to its
staying in the hostel. Although we do not get food in food. It is seen as a food that most other communities do not
the morning for sehri because it’s too early for the eat (Mcduie-Ra 2012b: 72) and seen as far closer to food from
workers, we can pack food during dinner time and keep countries like China and Myanmar (ibid 73). What does the
it in the room. We can then eat it during sehri time. relationship between food and community mean in the hostel
When the month of Ramazan comes to an end, the hos- of a public university?
tel has an iftar party in which even those who do not fast For many students from northeastern parts of India, the
can join. hostel food is very different from what they generally eat.
2
The northeastern region of India consists of eight states — Arunachal
Both during Navaratri and Ramzan, fasting students have to Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and
register their names in advance for their special dietary re- Tripura. It is geographically located towards the far east in India’s map and
quirements. Not all (the ones not fasting) are given special has a specific history of marginalization because of its location and cultural
differences from other regions. In fact, food from this part of India is often
food or allowed to pack food, but only students who are considered to be ‘gross’ and ‘stinky’ (see Mcduie‐Ra 2012a, b, Kikon in
fasting. By reworking their menus and meal timings, hostels Bhushi 2018).
718 Society (2022) 59:714–722

The hostels of these institutes offer food mainly from the I know our food can be different and smelly, but it can-
northern and central Indian regions with occasional servings not be a reason for discrimination. Even when we are
of food items from the Southern, Western and Eastern parts of cooking, I can see some people making faces and cov-
India. Food from India’s northeastern region finds no place on ering their noses in the corridor. That is insensitive and
the menus. It is difficult to adapt to a new diet (Pathania and makes us feel excluded. We are not even asking them to
Tierney 2018). eat our food.
For many students from the northeast, the food served in
these national hostels becomes a source of alienation and ex- Fermented foods create conflicts and disputes in
clusion. Many of them resort to either cooking on their own or neighbourhoods and university campuses, including hostels
ordering food from outside. “I fall sick if I eat hostel food. It is (Kikon in Bhushi 2018: 96). For those students from different
too spicy for me. Hence, I either cook or eat from outside,” parts of the northeast, hostel food signifies exclusion and
says Maheta, a postgraduate student from Manipur in DU. difference.
Prakriti, another postgraduate student from Assam who lives
in a JNU hostel, says that the hostel food has been a big part of
her adjustment to another environment. “I had to struggle to Meat as a Means of Exclusion
eat the hostel food after I had come to Delhi. I am still strug-
gling even after two years. It is not what we eat at home; this This feeling of exclusion is not limited to students from the
food is very different.” Tenzing, a Naga student from JNU, northeast. Most hostels have primarily vegetarian menus with
says that the hostel food is a “constant reminder” of her dif- occasional servings of non-vegetarian food. Meat and fish are
ference. “Food, like the other things, only reminds me again served twice a week during dinner, although eggs are given
and again that I am different.” during breakfast and once a week for dinner. The meat that is
served is mostly chicken and sometimes mutton. This decision
is influenced by majoritarian taste and adherence to upper-
caste Hindu religious beliefs (Pathania 2016). It indicates a
“Smelly” Food as a Means of Exclusion propagation of a singular identity through food even in cos-
mopolitan settings like university hostels.
Food is a central way of otherisation of people from the north- Meats like pork and beef — consumed and preferred by
east. Northeasterners find it difficult to get rented houses in students from the northeast and south India — are excluded
metro cities like New Delhi as their food is seen as “smelly” from the hostel menus (Pathania 2016; Gundemeda 2020).
and “dirty” (Mcduie-Ra 2013). Bamboo shoot, akhuni and Since universities are public spaces, it is not surprising that
fermentation — some of the essential ingredients and tech- hostel menus reflect majoritarian socio-cultural choices
niques of food of several communities from the northeast — (Gundimeda et al. 2012). While beef is considered to be ined-
become tools to otherise and exclude them. Their pungent ible and impure by upper-caste Hindus (Srinivas 1995), pork
smell is seen as something that can be “disgusting” to others. is categorised as “dirty”. A correlation is drawn between
Keeping in mind this context, excluding northeastern food Muslims and beef and tribals and pork (Gundimeda and
from hostel menus makes many students feel different. Thus, Ashwin 2018). Both beef and pork are ranked lower in the
although there is no national or Indian cuisine per se, exclud- hierarchy of meat, and hence their eaters are lower in caste and
ing food from the northeastern region from hostel menus social status (Srinivas 1995). Hostel menus play it “safe” by
pushes the idea that only certain dietary practices are only including “acceptable” non-vegetarian items like chicken
“Indian” (Appadurai 1988; Kikon in Bhushi 2018). It is no and fish, with occasional servings of mutton. These decisions
surprise that the homogenous idea of the community is chal- seem exclusionary for students who prefer to eat pork and beef
lenged. For students like Maheta, Prakriti and Tenzing, the regularly. It is considered fallacious to look at India from a
“no cooking rule” in hostel rooms does not make much sense. “common gastronomic, cultural” (Appadurai 1988) perspec-
They see it as “an unnecessary rule” which makes their lives tive as many variations exist.
difficult. “If I don’t cook, I will have to keep ordering from
outside. Neither can I afford it, nor is it good for my health.
Hence this rule makes no sense. Our food is different from the Intersections of Food, Gender and Class
food given here,” says Maheta. “Although we still cook in our
rooms, there is also a fear about someone objecting or The idea of the community is also challenged at another level
complaining. If the matter reaches the warden, we can be — that is, on the question of gender. The relationship between
fined”, says Tenzing. They recognise that bamboo shoot and food and gender has been extensively discussed by feminist
akhnui have “strong” smells but expect “tolerance” and “in- scholars who have shown that from production to consump-
clusion” from others. Says Maheta: tion, food is gendered. While public universities like JNU and
Society (2022) 59:714–722 719

DU are perceived as egalitarian spaces, there are ways to un- the world”. Purva (quoted earlier in the paper), who has served
derstand the impact of gender on hostel food. All the thirty-six in the mess committees of the hostels in DU and JNU, says
women interviewed for this study said that different rules exist that committee members are under tremendous pressure when
in boys’ hostels than in girls. There is no restriction on the making menus. Preference for food is a subjective choice and
quantity of food that boys can take, and there is also a general influenced by one’s social background (Bourdieu 1979).
agreement that the food quality in boys’ hostels is better. Indian food habits are influenced by caste, class, religion
Rupali, an MA student at JNU, says: and regional identities. Students on the committees feel that
it is very challenging to satisfy everyone. What constitutes
In my hostel, during breakfast, the day idli is served, I satisfactory and non-satisfactory food in public spaces like
can only take two pieces. In fact, if I want an egg with it, university hostels has always been a contentious issue
I have to sign the register and pay for it. No such restric- (Gundemeda 2020).
tions or rules exist in any of the boys’ hostels. The girls also feel it is easier for boys to pressurise and
complain about food in the hostel because the managers listen
These restrictions and rules on the quantity of food for women to them. “They [mess managers] know that boys can be hot-
are congruent with dominant representations of women’s bod- headed, so it can become serious if they don’t listen to their
ies in popular culture that idealise a type of femininity based grievances. You know, I had heard this story of a boy throw-
upon diet restriction (Cairns et al. 2010). There are also pro- ing the plate full of biriyani directly at the manager because it
hibitions on what to eat and what not to eat that are gendered was not good. Girls don’t do that,” says Rupali (quoted earlier
across cultures. Certain food items like meat, particularly red in the paper). According to mess managers, there is some truth
meat, and milk are often made selectively available to men in that boys’ hostels generally have better food. Francis, who has
various cultures (Dube 1998; Adams 2010). Almost twenty been working as a caterer in two hostels of DU for almost 10
women out of the total of thirty-six women interviewed felt years, says that boys “complain much more” and it is not easy
that there is also discrimination in terms of meat in the hostels. to “deal with a big group of boys”. “As caterers, we take care
Says Shilpa, a postgraduate student at DU: so that we can provide the best possible food in the hostels;
they are students – young people – who should eat good food.
We do not get mutton in our hostel. The reason given is The girls don’t complain much but the boys are slightly diffi-
that it is expensive and our mess bills will go up. But it is cult to deal with. They can complain too much, and dealing
not the same case in the boys’ hostel. They get mutton with a big group is not easy. Hence, one has to take extra
and much better food than us. care.”
While hostel authorities and students alike focus on build-
Interestingly, even the boys agree that the food served in boys’ ing a community through food, there are several fault lines and
hostels is of “better in quality and quantity”. There is also an divisions in this idea of the community. The social meaning of
agreement that there is no “portion control”. But they do not food is not the same for everyone. One cannot understand
think that there is discrimination in terms of meat. Mohit, a hostel food without looking at regional, ethnic, gender, caste
PhD student at JNU, stated: and class diversity. In universities like JNU and DU, known
for their diversity, students from various backgrounds live in
I have eaten in many of the girl’s hostel mess in JNU. the many hostels. They often come from economically
There is no doubt that the food in my hostel is better, be marginalised families, and hostel food is their only food
it the daal or the raita. But we also do not get mutton source during their stay in the hostel. Thus, when exploring
regularly, maybe twice a month sometimes but mostly the relationship between community and hostel food, one
on special dinners. must also look at the class question.
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic entered India, JNU
While mutton is not served once a week, even in boys’ hostels, saw heavy protests by students and teachers alike as the ad-
they get it at least twice a month in many hostels. For girls, it is ministration proposed a hostel fee hike. It was seen as an
on the menu only during special dinners. However, not every- exclusionary and discriminatory move that would further
one thinks that this constitutes discrimination. Students feel alienate students from marginalised backgrounds. There were
that not everyone eats mutton, beef and/or pork; hence, chick- several protests between October and December 2019 against
en and fish are “safe choices”. Others see mutton as expensive the administration’s decision (The Indian Express 2020). The
and feel that its more regular inclusion might raise their mess students interviewed for this study feel that the fee hike is
bills. Food served in spaces like hostels is thus dependent on unjust since it is a public university and students cannot afford
various factors. a rise in bills.
In fact, students who have served on hostel committees While there are complaints about the food served in hos-
state that making a hostel menu is the “most difficult job in tels, many students also agree that hostel food functions
720 Society (2022) 59:714–722

adequately as their main source of meals. In fact, most com- Similarly, both DU and JNU also have various forms of
plaints about food quality are from students who hail from food festivals that are organised on their campuses. While
middle-class and upper-class backgrounds. This is similar to JNU has an international food festival, DU has a northeast
what Nagaraju Gundemeda’s study of Hyderabad Central food festival. Both of these are organised by students and
University revealed (Gundemeda 2020). For students from are ways to come together to eat and celebrate. These are also
lower-class backgrounds, hostel food is affordable, varied ways in which students are introduced to food from different
and of good quality. cultures. However, for many, these are “exclusive” events. An
In fact, in hostel meetings, students from economically MPhil student at JNU, Vignesh, said:
poorer backgrounds constantly voice their concern that there
should not be a hike in the mess bill “in the name of improving I will not say that I do not enjoy special occasions like
food quality”. For many like Alam, Roshni and Kiran, hostel food festivals that the hostels organise. But I never eat
food is “quite good”. They are aware of their economic back- much because I cannot afford the food. For instance,
grounds and cannot afford to pay more than they already do. since my MA, I have lived in JNU but have barely gone
This contrasts with students from middle-class and upper- to the [international] food festival. The food that is sold
class backgrounds who “would not mind” spending a “little there is very expensive.
more” if they get better food in return. This is why, perhaps,
members of mess committees feel that making a menu in a Vignesh argues that he realises the need for organising such
hostel is a “very, very tough job”. food festivals but still thinks that they are just for “privileged
While an occasion like the “special dinner” is eagerly students”. For students like Saroj, Roshni and Alam, occa-
awaited, not everyone is excited about it. Students from eco- sions like food festivals are luxuries that they cannot afford.
nomically poorer backgrounds feel that they can sometimes They are associated with privilege and upper classes as status
create unnecessary financial strain because of peer pressure. markers (Bourdieu 1979).
Saroj, an undergraduate student in Delhi, for instance, says In fact, there has been significant debate around food fes-
that her friends from other hostels invite her to special dinners tivals on university campuses across India. The Dalit student’s
in their hostels. While she appreciates the gesture, she cannot union of the University of Hyderabad had planned on serving
pay and often declines these invitations. beef in its annual food festival, Sukoon, a decision that was
scrapped by the university authorities. It was met with protests
When my friends invite me for special dinner at their from the Dalit students union, who saw it as “arbitrary” and
hostels, it’s nice; but also creates pressure. The special “hegemonic” (Gundimeda 2009). Similarly, in JNU, a group
dinner is expensive for me, and if I say I cannot pay, called The New Materialists (TNM) wanted to organise a beef
they offer to pay on my behalf. I appreciate their kind- festival on 17th September 2012. After opposition from right-
ness, but I don’t feel good about it. At the same time, wing organisations and interference from the Delhi High
there is also the expectation that I will invite them to the Court, the planned event was cancelled (Pathania 2016).
special dinner in my hostel. But I cannot because since Meats like beef and pork were systematically pushed out of
they offered to pay for me, how can I ask them to pay? public events like food festivals in universities, rendering the
events exclusionary and discriminatory. Thus, the idea of the
Others like Shilpa and Rupali (quoted earlier) also feel that community is challenged.
while occasions like special dinners are organised with a
“good intention”, they can unintentionally create these finan-
cial and social pressures. There is an obligation to reciprocate Conclusion
(Mauss 1966) the invitation to a special dinner that students
can find obligatory and pressurising. This is not limited to Throughout this paper, I have tried to explore the relationship
special dinners alone but is also visible on hostel nights and between food and migrant students who reside in hostels of
food festivals. two premier public universities of India — the University of
Every hostel has an annual event called the hostel night, for Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University. In the past few years,
which preparation begins almost a month earlier. Usually, hostels and university campuses have been in the spotlight as
hostels have it in the months of February–April, and it consists both sites for resistance and protest. Discussions and debates
of various cultural activities like singing, dancing and poetry around hostel fee hikes and food politics mean that there is a
and a grand dinner. Residents are permitted to invite guests to need to understand what hostel food means and represents for
these hostel nights, and the cost of the meals is added to their migrant students.
respective mess bills. Thus, occasions like hostel nights create For many, hostel food is closely tied to the concept of
both obligations to invite and accept invitations (Mauss 1966). belonging to a community. Sharing meals, eating the same
food, celebrating festivals, and special occasions like special
Society (2022) 59:714–722 721

dinners and hostel nights make them feel a sense of belong- https://livewire.thewire.in/campus/jnusu-demands-reopening-of-
campus-immediate-hostel-allotment-for-2020-batch/
ingness to the campus community. Students enjoy eating to-
Arunima, G. (2017). Thought, Policies and Politics: How May We
gether and building relationships. At the same time, a study of Imagine the Public University in India? Kronos. 43(1).
hostel food shows that the notion of the community is not Azzopardi, Andrew. (2011). Conceptualising Discursive Communities:
fixed — it is fragmented and exclusionary. There are different Developing Community in Contemporary Society. International
Journal of Inclusive Education. 15:1: 179-192. Routledge: Taylor
degrees of hierarchy, inclusion and exclusion within the com-
and Francis.
munity. The message at play here is “inclusion yet exclusion” Barua, Nupur. (1999). Reflections in Retrospect: Fieldwork in One’s
(Douglas 1972: 61). Own Community. Indian Anthropologist. 29(2): 77-85.
From IIT Madras deciding to have separate dining halls Indian Anthropological Association.
Beardsworth, Alan and Teresa Keil. 1997. On The Menu: An Invitation to
and washbasins for vegetarians and non-vegetarians (the de-
The Study of Food and Society. Routledge: London And New York.
cision was later scrapped after criticism) (Susan 2018) to uni- Bourdieu, Pierre. (1979). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement
versities like JNU and the University of Hyderabad trying to of Taste. Translated by Richard Nice, 1984. Harvard University
host beef and pork festivals, campuses are public spaces Press.
Cairns, Kate, Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann. (2010). Caring About
where both hegemony and resistance operate. The homoge-
Food: Doing Gender in the Foodie Kitchen. Gender and Society.
neous idea of the community is challenged at several levels — 24(5): 591-615.
caste, class, ethnicity, gender, region and religion. For Dalit Sage publications, Inc.
and tribal origin students, hostel menus signify ideas of exclu- Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. (2020). ‘Self, Society, and Social Science
sion and difference. For those from economically marginalised Knowledge’ in Achla Pritam Tandon, Gopi Devdutt Tripathy and
Rashi Bhargava (edited) Social Scientist in South Asia: Personal
backgrounds, availability and reasonable rates are key rather Narratives, Social Forces and Negotiations. Pp. 96-104.
than quality and variety. Routledge India.
While there is an attempt to promote togetherness and be- Conlon, Frank. (1995). ‘Dining Out in Bombay’ in Carol Breckenridge
longingness through hostel food, it is also met with resistance (edited) Consuming Modernity: Public Culture in a South Asian
World. Pp. 90-128. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
and counter meanings. A study of hostel food offers us a lens Counihan, Carole. (2004). Around the Tuscan Table: Food, Family, and
to understand the different meanings of a community as well Gender in Twentieth Century Florence. Routledge: New York.
as the relationship between migrating students and new Douglas, Mary. (1972). Deciphering a Meal. Daedalus. 101(1): 61-81.
places. The MIT Press, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dube, Leela. (1998). On the Construction of Gender: Hindu Girls in
Patrilineal India. Economic and Political Weekly. 23(18): 11-19.
Economic and Political Weekly.
Acknowledgements I want to express my gratitude to my respondents for Durkheim, Emile. 1982. (1895) The Rules of Sociological Method. Edited
taking the time to answer my questions. I am also thankful to the re- by Steven Lukes with an introduction and translated by W.D. Halls.
viewers and the editors for their insights and suggestions. New York: The Free Press.
Durkheim, Emile. (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
Declarations Translated with an introduction by Karen E. Fields (1995). New
York: The Free Press.
Einhorn, Laura. (2020). Normative Social Influence on Meat
Consent to Participate The names of all respondents have been changed Consumption. MPIfG Discussion Paper 20/1. Cologne: Max
to protect their anonymity. Also, consent was sought to include their Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. https://pure.mpg.de/rest/
quotes in this paper. items/item_3196378/component/file_3204446/content
Goffman, E. (1989). On Fieldwork. Journal of Contemporary
Ethnography. 18-2 (July): 123-132.
Conflict of Interest The author declares no competing interests. Gundemeda, Nagaraju. (2020). Food Choices and Social Distinctions
among University Students in Hyderabad. South Asia Research.
40(3): 1-18.
Gundimeda, Sambaiah. (2009). Democratisation of Public Sphere: The
Beef Stall Case in Hyderabad’s Sukoon Festival. South Asia
References Research. 29(2): 127-49.
Gundimeda, Sambaiah, V. B. Tharakeshwar and Uma Bhrugubanda
Adams, Carol. (2010). The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist (edited). (2012). What’s the Menu - Food Politics and Hegemony.
Vegetarian Critical Theory. New York: The Continuum Anveshi Broadsheet on Contemporary Politics. 1(4). http://www.
International Publishing Group Inc. anveshi.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/whats-the-menu-
Appadurai, Arjun. (1981). Gastro-Politics in Hindu South Asia. American english.pdf
Ethnologist. 8(3): 494-511. Gundimeda, Sambiah. & Ashwin, VS (2018). Cow Protection in India:
Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological Association. From Secularising to Legitimating Debates. South Asia Research.
Appadurai, Arjun. (1988). How to Make a National Cuisine: Cookbooks 38(2): 156–76.
in Contemporary India. Comparative Studies in Society and History. Hill Collins, Patricia. (2010). The New Politics of Community. American
30(1): 3-24. Sociological Review. 75(1): 7-30.
Cambridge University Press. American Sociological Association.
Ara, Ismat. (2021). JNUSU Demands Reopening of Campus, Immediate Lalli, Gurpinder Singh. (2020). Schools, Food and Social Learning. New
Hostel Allotment for 2020 Batch. LiveWire. 7th September 2021. York: Routledge.
722 Society (2022) 59:714–722

Kawoosa, Vijdan Mohammad. (2019). Delhi has highest share of inter- 41(2): 203-23.
state migrants, Hindustan Times. 28th July 2019. https://www. New Delhi: Sage Publications.
hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/delhi-has-highest-share-of-inter- Srinivas, M. N. (1995) Social Change in Modern India. Hyderabad:
state-migrants/story-QCYXSWlnSYAJbNb25ljcPL.html Orient Black Swan.
Khare, R.S. (1986). Introduction in R.S. Khare and M. S. A. Rao (edited) Srinivas, Tulasi. (2006). ‘As Mother Made It’: The Cosmopolitan Indian
Food, Society, and Culture: Aspects in South Asian Food Systems. Family, ‘Authentic’ Food and the Construction of Cultural Utopia.
Pp. 3-18. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. International Journal of Sociology of the Family. 32(2): 191-221.
Kikon, Dolly. (2018). ‘Eating Akhuni in India’ in Kiranmayi Bhushi International Journals.
(edited) Farm to Fingers: The Culture and Politics of Food in Susan, Nisha. (2018). How to Smell Like a Pure Vegetarian? Mint. 21st
Contemporary India. Pp. 80-102. Cambridge University Press. December 2018. https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/
Mauss, Marcel. (1966) [1950] The Gift: Forms and Functions of xWWUoYFQGfyEvk96ObxBAL/Opinion%2D%2DHow-to-
Exchange in Archaic Societies. London: Cohen & West. smell-like-a-pure-vegetarian.html
Mcduie-Ra, Duncan. (2012a). Northeast Migrants in Delhi: Race, Refuge Taylor Sen, Colleen. (2015). Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in
and Retail. Amsterdam University Press. India. London: Reaktion Books Ltd.
Mcduie-Ra, Duncan. (2012b). The ‘North-East’ Map of Delhi. Economic
The Indian Express. (2020). JNU Protests: What is the Hostel Fee Hike
and Political Weekly. XLVII (30): 69-77.
that Students are Protesting?. The Indian Express. 6th January 2020.
Mcduie-Ra, Duncan. (2013). Beyond the ‘Exclusionary City’: North-
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/jnu-student-union-
east: Migrants in Neo-liberal Delhi. Urban Studies. 50(8): 1625-
protest-fee-hike-jnusu-6114464/
1640.
Mills, C. W. (1959). The Sociological Imagination. New York: Oxford Tönnies, Ferdinand. (2001). Community and Civil Society. Translated by
University Press. Jose Harris and Margaret Hollis. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Patgiri, Rituparna. (2016). The Social Nature of Food in India: A Review Press.
of Literature. Unpublished MPhil dissertation. Submitted to Zaidi, Annie. (2019). How Women at India’s College Hostels are
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi. Winning Freedom. IndiaSpend. 27th April 2019. https://www.
Patgiri, Rituparna. (2020a). What Does Baking Tell Us About Class indiaspend.com/how-women-at-indias-college-hostels-are-
During COVID-19 in India? Sociology Lens. 24th August 2020. winning-freedom/
https://www.sociologylens.net/topics/political-economic-sociology/
baking-and-class-during-covid-19-in-india/32171 Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdic-
Patgiri, Rituparna. (2020b). Bat Meat and Chinese Identity. Contexts. tional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
19(4): 65-67. American Sociological Association (ASA): Sage
Journals. Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a
Pathania, Gaurav J. (2016). Food Politics and Counter-Hegemonic publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author
Assertions in Indian University Campuses. South Asia Research. self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely
36(2): 261-277. governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
Sage Publications.
Pathania, Gaurav J. (2018). The University as a Site of Resistance:
Identity and Student Politics. Oxford University Press.
Rituparna Patgiri teaches Sociology at Indraprastha College for Women
Pathania, Gaurav J. and William G. Tierney. (2018). An Ethnography of
(IPCW), University of Delhi. She has a Ph.D. in Sociology from
Caste and Class at an Indian University: Creating Capital. Tertiary
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She is also one of the co-founders
Education and Management. Routledge: Taylor and Francis.
of Doing Sociology, an academic blog dedicated to promoting
Rapp, R. (2000). Testing the Woman, Testing the Foetus. London:
sociological consciousness among young students and scholars, and a
Routledge Press.
host with New Books Network, a consortium of author-interview podcast
Roychowdhury, Adrija. (2020). JNU Fee Hike Comes as a Body Blow
channels dedicated to raising the level of public discourse by introducing
for Poor Students. Hindustan Times. 22nd July 2020. https://www.
scholars and other serious writers to a wide public via new media. Dr.
hindustantimes.com/education/jnu-fee-hike-comes-as-a-body-
Patgiri is passionate about making academic knowledge accessible to the
blow-for-poor-students/story-zUwc23bIlTeImWOpgk2qgL.html
public and her research interests lie in exploring questions of culture,
Saunders, Jennifer. (2007). ‘I Don’t Eat Meat’: Discourse on Food
food, media, gender and pedagogy.
Among Transnational Hindus. Contributions to Indian Sociology.