Following a protest organised by Vivek Vichar Manch in front of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) against a virtual talk on the Israel-Palestine conflict by theatre director and actor Sudhanva Deshpande at the institute, a post on social media site X by @AppscIITb has been making the rounds.
The post has a picture which is a private email from the IIT-B Director, Subhasis Chaudhuri, to students. The email is in response to the recent controversies the college has been facing following Deshpande's remarks and the cancellation of a talk by writer and academician Achin Vanaik.
In the email, Chaudhuri wrote that the protest outside IIT-B raised slogans of 'death to the traitor'.
"Such actions, potentially putting the life of a faculty member at risk, are completely unacceptable regardless of what was said in class," Chaudhuri wrote.
The email also states that the reputation of the institution is being unfairly damaged by the actions of these students and possible, by such guest speakers.
About the virtual talk by Sudhanva Deshpande, Chaudhuri wrote that the administration wasn't aware of the talk till after it happened.
"A tiny group of students, along with right wing political groups outside IITB, has been attempting to create an environment of fear in IIT Bombay campus, throughout this week. Has this politics of hate became so easy and obvious @PMOIndia," the post reads.
In a guest lecture, Deshpande allegedly praised Zakaria Zubeidi, a Palestinian militant and cultural activist, and terming the Palestinian resistance movement a “freedom struggle”.
A day after Deshpande’s remarks on Monday, the premier institute had cancelled another lecture on the Israel-Palestine conflict by writer and academician Achin Vanaik.
