An alarming situation highlighting that Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) is converting into Madarsa, as India's top Engineering institute in Bombay has converted one of the sections of the Department building into a designated area for performing namaz.
The incident came to light after the twitter username ‘IIT B for Bharat’ raised a voice against the misuse of academic facilities via social media.
As per the tweet of the ‘IIT B for Bharat’, the IIT Bombay has converted the section of the Department of Humanities and Social Science (HSS) due to Ramdaan. The video in which some students could be seen offering Namaz is going viral on the social media site.
Further the ‘IIT B for Bharat’ has tagged the Ministry of Education and demanded immediate intervention to prevent the misuse of academic facilities and ensure they remain dedicated to research and educational activities.
Organised pro-Hamas event in the institute
It should be noted that this is not the first time that HSS has landed into communal controversy. Earlier,the HSS Department had organised a pro-Hamas event, amid Israel Hamas Conflict. It also invited controversial pro-Hamas Professor-turned-activist Achin Vanaik to conduct a lecture on Israel-Palestine, however it was cancelled after an FIR was filed against the department and the professor. .
The HHS department's Professor Sharmishtha Saha invited Sudhanva Deshpande under the pretext of the Course ‘Performance Theory & Praxis’. Deshpande is an actor/director associated with Jana Natya Manch and a proudly radical leftist. It is alleged that Deshpande supported Hamas and terrorists during the talk.
Deshpande admits to having met Palestinian militant Zakaria Zubeidi in 2015. He further defends violence & armed rebellion. Zubeidi’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility for the Nov 2002 terrorist attack in Bet She’an in which 6 civilians died, the handle claimed to be operated by students of the institute noted.
The lecture reportedly was given on Monday (6th November 2023), when incidentally the Vice President of India was also invited for a separate lecture in the institute. According to the allegations levelled by students, Sudhanva was intentionally invited the day when Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s lecture was already scheduled.
1 in 3 IIT Bombay graduates fail to get a job:
This comes amid when the reports are circulating that 36% of students at IIT Bombay have not secured employment in the current placement season. Out of 2,000 students registered for placements, 712 remain jobless.
The placement cell at IIT Bombay highlighted the challenges faced in attracting companies to campus this year, attributing the difficulties to the global economic downturn. Negotiations with companies over salary packages have become more complex, necessitating multiple discussions before firms agreed to participate in the placement process.
For the first time, even students from the typically in-demand Computer Science and Engineering department have not achieved full placement. The placement process is ongoing and will continue until May 2024.