IIT Bombay Tightens Political Event Policies Amid Controversy

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has implemented new policies for campus events. The changes come after events sponsored by the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) department sparked debate.

Under the new rules, public events hosted by academics require approval from the academic unit head. Student-planned events need formal consent. To hold protests, authorisation will be required from both the local police and the institute beforehand. 

The institute has formed an "external speaker review committee" for events that can have political consequences. This committee will vet speakers from outside the organisation. The external speaker evaluation committee will be led by the institute director. The committee will select external speakers. Event hosts must provide comprehensive details about the speakers for evaluation.

The institute stresses the importance of maintaining an apolitical environment on campus. Any breach of the defamation policy or involvement in contentious events may result in action.

Under the new policy, "potentially political" events and "purely non-political" events will be considered differently. Political events may contain politically or socially contentious content, whereas non-political events will be about scientific, technological, research-based, literary, or artistic meetings.

The changes come after criticism over the screening of the documentary "Arna's Children" and the cancellation of a lecture on the historical background of Israel and Palestine at IIT Bombay.

Recently, a scheduled lecture by retired Delhi University professor Achin Vanaik was cancelled. This incident drew attention to a speech given by Prof. Sharmishtha Saha at the HSS department, which included a screening of "Arna's Children" and an introduction by Sudhanva Deshpande from the Naja Natya Manch (JANAM), New Delhi. Following these events, several students lodged a formal complaint at the Powai police station, leading to a demonstration at the Powai campus main gate of IIT Bombay.

In response to these incidents, the institute administration has pledged to create a code of conduct for teachers, staff, and students, as well as a policy for planning public lectures and events, to prevent similar issues in the future.