IIT Mandi has ordered an inquiry into a Bhagavad Gita-themed poster that described Shudras as serving “higher classes.” Director Laxmidhar Behera condemned the display, said it was student-led and unauthorised, and reaffirmed the institute’s commitment to equality and social justice.
New Delhi: IIT Mandi has ordered an inquiry into a controversial Bhagavad Gita-themed poster on its campus that said Shudras should "serve higher classes", with Director Laxmidhar Behera attributing it to students' interpretation of the scripture and distancing the institute from its contents.
Behera himself has a longstanding association with the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). He teaches a three-credit Gita course at IIT Mandi and is the founder of the proposed Bhaktivedanta University, which describes itself as an ISKCON initiative.
"Some students have interpreted the Gita in some way. I have instituted an enquiry committee. It was a student-based event," Behera told PTI on Sunday, asserting that he and the institute stood against caste discrimination.
In an email to the IIT Mandi community on Sunday, titled "Outright condemnation of recent poster display within campus", Behera said he was "shocked" to learn about the poster displayed during Janmashtami celebrations on September 4 and stressed that it had not been endorsed by the institute "in any manner".
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