IIT Mandi probes poster saying Shudras should serve higher classes

IIT Mandi has ordered an inquiry into a poster that divided society into Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras, assigning Shudras the role of serving “higher classes.” The display appeared outside the institute’s auditorium during Janmashtami celebrations on Sept. 4.

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Some students have interpreted the Gita in some way. I have instituted an enquiry committee. It was a student-based event.

Director Laxmidhar Behera said the poster resulted from students’ interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita and stressed that neither he nor the institute had endorsed its contents. In an email to the IIT Mandi community, he said he was “shocked” to learn about the display and expressed sympathy for people hurt by the incident.

Behera said he had personally opposed caste discrimination and that the institute stood for equality, social justice and scientific temper. He told PTI that the poster formed part of a student-led event and that an inquiry committee had been established.

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shocked

The committee includes faculty members and representatives from different social categories, including Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes. The poster described Brahmanas as spreading God’s message, Kshatriyas as protecting society and spirituality, and Vaishyas as driving the economy and supporting others. It also included a Bhagavad Gita verse referring to four divisions of human society and the three modes of material nature.

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The institute strongly condemns any form of caste based discrimination.

Behera, who teaches a three-credit Bhagavad Gita course and founded a proposed Bhaktivedanta University initiative, said he had been away from campus and learned of the controversy on Sunday morning. He told PTI, “I have not seen the poster.”

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I have not seen the poster.