IIT graduate Abhay Singh, also known as IIT Baba, was in the news when the Mahakumbh-2025 started. There were controversies around him; he got lot of media attention; appeared on many podcasts. On February 28, a news channel broadcast live a whole fracas involving him and some other ‘saints’.[1] He threatened to lodge an FIR against the news channel for keeping him confined in the studio. It appeared that the IIT Baba was the only one to be interviewed in the studio, with two anchors questioning him.
However, at a certain point, suddenly a group of other saints came in and they started accusing Baba of misleading people about his reality, and levelled other allegations against him. There was also physicality involved, with video cameras capturing what appeared like the Baba throwing his cup of tea on one of the saints. The saints too were using strong language and also called him “Pakistani agent”.
News channels have been in this habit of testing out the authenticity of a Hindu saint (or a baba)—whether he is for real, or is he a ‘paakhandi (roughly, impostor)’. This, without fail, happens only with the Hindu saints. I have not come across any incident, or a TV show, where the saints of any other religions have been put to test about whether they were real or not. In all probability, such shows are not aimed at any deep-rooted discussion on spirituality; rather, they are designed as ‘playing to the gallery’, apparently in a bid to earn TRPs.
Be that as it may, we need to look a bit deeper into the phenomenon of IIT Baba, and all the controversies around him, to understand why it panned out the way it has.
We must understand that the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is not just an institute of excellence, which churns out high quality engineers. An IIT pass out (from whichever branch) is at least two things rolled into one:
- He is supposed to be a rational person possessing ‘scientific temper’, technically savvy and somebody who is capable of handling complex systems and processes. He is the epitome of intelligence. In other words, he is a ‘brand’.
- Socially, he is the elite; the much-sought-after marriage material; the son (or son-in-law) to aspire for. He is supposed to be right there at the highest echelons of the social ladder—or, on his way, the moment he graduates. He is supposed to be earning ‘decently,’ if you know what I mean. He is supposed to be at the highest point of social pecking order (sharing that space with probably his friend, who did the MBBS).
IIT-baba said it in as many words in a podcast with Sushant Sinha. He said: “Ek brand bana rakha hai; ki IIT kiya hai to kuchh to hoga (They have created a brand; that if a person has done IIT, there must be something in him).”[2] An IIT-ian is a person, who is loved by the Western education. And being an IIT-ian is aspirational for a major chunk of the Santana middle class. This does not mean that everybody will get through IIT. But an effort will be made—rather, has to be made; and must be made. Billions are spent (by parents) and earned (by coaching institutes) every year as lakhs of students are supposed to take the coaching for engineering entrance exams. Passing out from any other engineering institute is considered par for course. They may be an IIT-ian’s ‘poor cousin’, but they will still be up the pecking order.
On the other hand, Baba (roughly, a saint who has renounced the worldly life and lives simply, often with some spiritual ‘eccentricities’) is supposedly a complete counter to the image of an IIT-ian. Today, of course, with Yogi Adityanath ji at the helm as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the term has taken a new dimension. People refer to him as Baba in a positive appreciation of his tireless, and strong, work for the betterment of Uttar Pradesh. Hence, a term like, say, “Bulldozer Baba”.
But, Baba otherwise, especially in the not-so-distant-past, was, by and large, considered a pejorative term in the media circles. The connotation almost always was: Aaj kal to itne saare baba ho gaye hain; apnee dukaan chala rahe hain (These days, there are so many “Babas”, and all of them are running their own shops.) The common understanding was that Babas are out to hoodwink people for their personal benefit in the name of spiritualism.
This argument was not completely unfounded. There were quite a few such characters, who seemed at ease doing all sorts of strange, and wrong, things. And yet, that was not the full truth. Because, a Hindu saint was supposed to be something completely different.
Yet, it suited the media, driven in part by the western motivations, and, in part, run by people, who were steeped in the Western education—which is deeply embedded in our education system. For them, a Baba is somebody devoid of rationality, given to eccentricities and should have a propensity for chamatkaar (miracle).
When an IIT-ian becomes a baba, what does it entail? We will have to realise what it means when an IIT-ian ‘leaves all that’. Here, “all that” means: A cushy job earning him thousands or lakhs, preferably in Dollars; job being based in America or Europe; ‘Rational’ mind; of course, comfortable lifestyle.
It is this sense of wonderment created out of a mind habituated to accept and aspire to only a particular world view (namely, the so-called advanced Western style of thinking), which draws the eye-balls, when an IIT-ian becomes a Baba.
Such a Baba will first be looked upon at in awe. Not because he has become a Baba, but because he has been an IIT-ian; and has taken to a path that is considered, to be quite generous, ‘exotic’. Thus, the obvious question, which draws maximum curiosity, is: “What led you to do so?”
If that Baba has used his IIT-knowledge to do something good for the society, then he would be lauded—again, because the element of “baba” can be over-shadowed by the fact of him using his IIT knowledge to bring some good. Then, his spirituality is celebrated as a ‘qualified success’.
In the case of Abhay Singh aka IIT-Baba, the man still seems to be looking for his way ahead. Abhay Singh himself accepts that he has stumbled on to spirituality, because there was this constant question in his mind about how the latter works. He has had his own share of personal problems growing up, went into depression in different periods of time, and has now managed to overcome it all—and start a journey for the betterment of Sanatana.
But for the West-dominated media (in terms of ideological leanings), this state of incomplete journey in the life of a man—who has decided to leave his IIT-ian self behind and take up spirituality—is a fit case for castigating Sanatana. And, hence, he is invited to TV studios, with a clear intention of being ridiculed. Add to that the fact that Abhay Singh does not have any institutional back-up.
To sum up, the case of Abhay Singh aka IIT Baba, more than what his thoughts on life are, reveals utter lack of understanding the Sanatana, and also a propensity to denigrate the same. And this propensity to caricature Sanatana in itself emerges due to the utter lack of understanding of the Sanatana. It is this circularity of logic that the media needs to get rid of.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycnb3qBoYHY
[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=The+previous+lives+of+IIT-baba+Abhay+Singh&rlz=1C1CHBF_enIN1138IN1138&oq=The+previous+lives+of+IIT-baba+Abhay+Singh&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORigATIGCAEQRRhA0gEINzU4MGowajeoAgiwAgHxBXka2PbSP6hU&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d5752143,vid:-Dfz3SPtf9E,st:0
