On February 26, the Ministry of Education (MoE) took to X to clarify the recent remarks made by Sam Pitroda in his webcast.
In a video posted on his X on February 22, 2025, Sam Pitroda said that he was speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ranchi to several hundred students when someone hacked in and started playing some objectionable content, disrupting the event.
Pitroda's video
In the video, a discussion on the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi today, Pitroda was speaking about the importance of freedom of speech in a democracy and said, "Recently I was speaking at Ranchi IIT to several hundred students... and someone hacked in and started showing pornography."
"... (we) had to turn it (the video stream) off. Now is that democracy? Is that fair? I don't think so... I think institutional independence is at the core of democracy," he said.
MoE clarifies
Slamming this, the MoE cleared the air by saying, "It is hereby clarified that there is no IIT in Ranchi. Therefore, the statement made in that video is not only baseless but also reeks of ignorance. It is pertinent to state that there is an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Ranchi. But IIIT, Ranchi has also confirmed that Shri Sam Pitroda has not been invited by Institute to any conference/seminar to deliver a lecture, physically or virtually."
"Such a reckless statement seems to be an attempt to malign the image of an extremely reputed institution of the country, i.e., the Indian Institute of Technology. This institution has stood the test of time and produced some of the brightest minds in the country. Unlike such an uninformed person, IITs reputation is built on the merit, hard work, and achievement of many students, teachers, and academia," MoE further added.
Condemning Pitroda's statement, the Ministry of Education reiterated that any such attempt to malign the image of the premier institution would face legal repercussions.
