Posters, calling to ‘stop Hindutva terrorism,’ in the country and ‘uphold humanity by smashing hatred’, at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai, have created an uproar on social media.
Some of the posters, which were put up by the institute’s Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), are still on the campus. A member of APPSC said, “These posters were put up some three-four days ago. But, as far as we know, some of them have been pulled down.”
Twitter users have questioned the institute for allowing such posters in its vicinity, and have tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the HRD Ministry, and the Mumbai Police, demanding action against the dean and the administration.
The APPSC said all they have done is taken a stand against hate politics. “This is not the first time that we have taken a stand against hate politics, which is thriving under the current government. There is no rule of law. Contents of the posters have been deliberately misinterpreted. Our idea is to have greater conversations, discussions, and debates about these things. We hope that the administration does not get carried away by the incitement,” its members, who have been disallowed from speaking to the media, said.
Twitter users have accused the group of instigating communal hatred on the campus. One user said, “If IITs are busy in dirty politics, what would be the future of our manpower?”
In July 2017, protests broke out at IIT Madras after a beef party was organised on the campus. A former student council member of IIT-M said, “There is intense polarisation on the campus, these days. The space for constructive student politics is diminishing. For most part of the disturbances, I blame the APSC. They do not believe in politics for the sake of education. They want politics for the sake of politics.”
One Twitter used said, “Dear IIT Bombay, are you running a tech institution or some kind of a Hindu hatred laboratory.”
Another tweeted, “ As if JNU and DU were not enough, now IITs have also joined the bandwagon. If the first two had taken any action, others wouldn’t have dated to continue. Can we expect some action now?”
A Twitter user also said that the posters have hurt the sentiments of the Hindus.
The IIT-Bombay spokesperson refused to comment.
