Another instance of Hinduphobia in academia has come to the fore. The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has fined students Rs 1.2 lakh each for performing a play called ‘Raahovan’ during the institute’s annual performing arts festival. The play, loosely based on the Bharatiya Itihasa Ramayana, received heavy criticism on social media for disrespecting Sri Ram and Hindu culture.
In addition to the fine, almost equal to a semester’s fee at the prestigious institute, the graduating students will not receive any recognition in the Gymkhana awards. Their juniors have been fined Rs 40,000 each and banned from using hostel facilities.
The play was staged on March 31 by students from various departments and years. Videos of the performance were widely shared on social media, showing the audience cheering during a conversation between the characters Sita and Lakshman.
Complaints claimed that ‘Raahovan’ portrayed the main characters negatively and mocked Hindu culture and religious sentiments. In response, the institute formed a disciplinary committee to investigate. After careful consideration, the committee decided on the fines and other disciplinary actions.
Supporters of the students argued that the play was a feminist perspective on a tribal society and was appreciated by many. IIT Bombay has declined to comment on the actions taken against the students.
In a related incident, the website of Centre-run Pondicherry University was allegedly hacked in April by a group of Bharatiya hackers. The hackers were protesting a play performed on the campus that they claimed insulted the Ramayana and made fun of Sri Ram. They disrupted the university’s official website in a suspected DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack and threatened to remove the institution’s page from Wikipedia.
(Featured Image Source: India Today)