The display of posters depicting distribution of works based on caste in Indian society as per ancient Indian scriptures, during a function organized to celebrate Shri Krishan Janmashmti at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campus Mandi has cropped up a new controversy.

The division of work on caste basis in the Indian society has been displayed in a few posters pit up by the organizers quoting a Shloka from Indian Epic ‘The Bhagawad Gita ‘– that division of the society into four castes has been attributed to  quality and virtue of a person.”

Such a depiction in the poster has led to opposition from a section of students terming it as reinforcement of caste system, which is discarded in the Indian Constitution.  

The IIT authorities have  disassociated from the function claiming the function was organized without seeking permission and without any involvement of the institution and constituted a committee to investigate the matter.

 The Director, IIT Mandi, Prof.  Luxmidhar Behara said, “The poster was a part of a student’s function and they interpreted a Shlok from the Gita in their own way, however the institute believes in equality and social justice.”

This is not the first time the IIT Mandi is in the news for wrong reason as earlier also organizing such functions had come under the criticism of the rational thinkers, “ who have been opposing  such religious functions in the institute and  propagation of obscurantist ideas .”

In a function organized under the series ‘Indian Knowledge’ sometime back , it was claimed in the presence of the Director that, “Evil spirits can be warded off by chanting certain Shlokas, which had also evoked strong reaction from the rationalist .”

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