Recently, a series of events being organised at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, which appears to be religious in nature, has raised concerns among the student community.
These events include a procession called Shriram Darbar Shobha Yatra happening on January 21 on the campus. Though it is not clear who exactly is organising the event, a poster of the same was put up on the campus. Other than this, Director of IIT Bombay, Subhasis Chaudhuri, will be inaugurating a Goshala (Cow Shelter) on the 22.
Another musical event called Ramdhun will be happening on the 20, as shared by the institute via an email addressed to all faculty and students dated November 17.
The students at IIT Bombay have opposed these events, highlighting that they go against the institute’s commitment to remain ‘apolitical in all endeavours'.
In November 2023, IIT Bombay released interim guidelines on holding events at the institute, urging the staff and students to stay away from activities or events on campus that may invite socio-political controversies that may bring the institute to disrepute.
In a tweet shared on social media platform X, Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) Bombay, a student collective at the institute, criticised the move by the premier institute.
“A line of events being carried out on campus by the @iitbombay administration shows that it has started crawling in front of Hindutva political forces, giving up on the principle of Secularism in the Indian Constitution… Very recently though the institute had declared that it shall "remain apolitical in all its endeavors," and has been using the new guidelines to cancel and censor several academic talks and gatherings on campus. We condemn the surrender of this institute in front of the right-wing political forces while on the other hand, it continues to suppress any activity by the independent student collectives,” the tweet dated Friday, January 19, read.
In another email shared on January 19, the institute announced a half-day closure on January 22, as per instructions by central government, till 2:30 PM.
