IIT Mandi orders inquiry after poster says Shudras should ‘serve higher classes’ | India News
NEW DELHI: IIT Mandi has set up an inquiry after a Bhagavad Gita-themed poster displayed on its campus during Janmashtami celebrations described Shudras as being meant to “serve higher classes”, triggering controversy over caste discrimination.Institute Director Laxmidhar Behera said the poster was part of a student-led event and had not been approved by the institute. He said he was “shocked” when he learnt about the display and stressed that IIT Mandi does not support caste-based discrimination.
Director distances institute from poster
In an email to the IIT Mandi community on Sunday, Behera described the development as an “Outright condemnation of recent poster display within campus”. He said the poster, displayed on September 4, had not been endorsed by the institute “in any manner”.“I have personally fought against caste-based discrimination in any form in every forum. I have instituted an enquiry committee in this matter such that the institute campus is never used for any such violation of social harmony. I fully empathise with members of our community who have been hurt by this incident,” he wrote.Behera said IIT Mandi was committed to “the values of equality, social justice, scientific temper” and the principles laid down in the Constitution.“The institute strongly condemns any form of caste based discrimination,” he said, urging members of the campus community to “stand together against such biases/discrimination in any form”.Speaking to PTI, Behera said the poster had been prepared for a student event. He said the inquiry committee included faculty members and representatives from different social categories, including members of the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes.
What the controversial poster said
The poster, titled “Bhagavad Gita – The Timeless Wisdom”, was put up outside the institute’s auditorium during Janmashtami celebrations.It divided society into four groups mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, namely Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. It described Brahmanas as those who “spread God’s message”, Kshatriyas as those who “protect society and spirituality” and Vaishyas as those who “drive economy, support others”.For Shudras, however, the poster listed their role as “serve higher classes”, which became the focus of the controversy.The poster also quoted a Bhagavad Gita verse stating that the four divisions of human society were created according to the “three modes of material nature and the work associated with them”.Behera said he had been away from IIT Mandi and returned on Saturday. He said he learnt about the controversy on Sunday morning.“I have not seen the poster. I don’t want to take a side here and let the panel decide,” he told PTI.
Behera’s Gita and ISKCON links
The controversy has also drawn attention to Behera’s long association with the Bhagavad Gita and ISKCON.According to his official IIT Mandi profile, Behera has spent 27 years teaching what he describes as the “universal principles of peace through Bhagavad Gita”. He is also known as “HG Lila Purushottam Das” and is the founder of the proposed Bhaktivedanta University, whose website describes it as an ISKCON initiative.Behera currently teaches a three-credit course on the Bhagavad Gita at IIT Mandi.He defended ISKCON’s position on caste, saying the organisation opposes discrimination and promotes equality.“ISKCON is the only organisation that strictly and strongly speaks against caste-based discrimination. In ISKCON, pujaris are also from the Shudra community. Muslims are also pujaris,” he claimed.“We are against casteism in all forms. All occupational duties are according to guna and karma,” he added.Behera also highlighted what he said was increased representation of marginalised communities at IIT Mandi during his tenure. According to him, the institute had no OBC, SC or ST faculty members when he joined, while their numbers have since risen substantially. The IIT director has previously faced criticism over his public views.
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In 2023, he asked students to take a pledge against eating meat and linked landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh to cruelty towards animals. In 2022, shortly after becoming IIT Mandi director, a video surfaced in which he claimed to have helped a friend’s family get rid of “evil spirits” through chanting holy mantras.More recently, IIT Mandi’s Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications Centre held a conference in June that included sessions on the Bhagavad Gita, Ayurveda and reincarnation. Behera was among its general chairs and co-organised a session titled “Reincarnation, OBEs and afterlife communication”.The institute’s inquiry committee will now examine how the poster was prepared, displayed and presented during the student-led event.