IIT-B warns students against religious preaching on campus
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has warned its students against engaging in religious preaching on campus after authorities found some senior students and external organisations proselytising and distributing pamphlets outside the institute gate and hostels.
In an email to the students at the institute, Soumyo Mukherjee, dean, students affairs, wrote that these activities are against the rules and regulations of the hostel. He added that those who participate in these activities will be punished.
Another email by editors of Insight, IIT-B’s in-house magazine, suggests there have been many recent instances of different religious and cultural groups from outside the institute visiting campus, with the help of senior students and staff and indulging students, especially freshmen, in proselytising activities.
“We came across multiple instances of pamphlet distribution around hostels and outside the main gate, inviting students to these group activities. These cultural groups claim to be conducting sessions to benefit students, but in truth have been found proselytising religious beliefs on campus,” read the mail.
According to sources, several groups cutting across religious lines are active on campus. While students belonging to Tableeghi Jamat, the movement to promote Islam, court other students in the hostels, Hindu neo-spiritual groups often promote workshops on yoga and stress management. Some Christian groups allegedly distribute pamphlets and a few Hindu students are said to be running a daily ‘shakha’ (meeting of the local unit) at IIT-B.
Mukherjee, who found out about these activities through some student mentors, said this could distract students from academics. “The students might not study and read religious texts instead,” he said, adding that the institute is trying to reduce students’ overall involvement in extra-curricular activities.
The decision has not gone down well with some students, who believe that these activities are harmless. They point out that only a small group of students is involved in religious activities in a campus that is buzzing with all kinds of extracurricular activities.
“IIT students are not robots. Just because they stay in a hostel, doesn’t mean they study for 24 hours a day,” said an MTech student. However, some students agreed with the step taken by the institute. “We don’t know what these external groups are putting the students through,” said Shreeyash Menon, an editor of Insight.