Following a two-month investigation into complaints regarding a play titled “Raahovan” performed on the IIT Bombay campus, the institution’s administration has penalised the participating students, with fines of up to Rs 1.2 lakh. Notably, the play titled “Raahovan” which was an alleged Ramayana adaption, was presented on the 31st of March as part of the Performing Arts Festival of the leading engineering institute.
As per a Swarajya report, a notice was sent to an undergraduate engineering student nearly two weeks ago by the IIT-Bombay registrar.
“A Disciplinary Action Committee meeting was held on 08/05/2024 to look into the complaint regarding the play ‘Raahovan’ performed during Performing Arts Festival (PAF) on 31/03/2024. Mr xxxx Roll number xxxx was involved directly in executing the play,” the notice read.
The notification ordered that the student pay a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh by July 30. He is barred from receiving any honour from the “Gymkhana Awards.” Students in the disciplines of academics, athletics, and culture are honoured with these honours at the institute. The notification has been addressed to the Dean and Head of the Mathematics Department in addition to the student’s parents.
One of the complainants, a PhD student told Swarajya that eight students involved in the matter were issued penalty notices. Raising concerns over the institution’s alleged lack of transparency, the complainant said, “Complainants like me made rounds of the registrar’s office several times but were provided no information. Then finally, the registrar’s office shared just this one notice as the concerned student is graduating next month.”
The complainants were informed by the registrar’s office that the penalty assessed to those who will graduate next month is higher than that imposed on those who will continue their engineering studies. The play’s participants have not been asked to offer an apology, which has angered the complainants with the course of action taken so far. Meanwhile, some of the complainants are planning to write to Air India, which hired the play’s writer and director.
As OpIndia reported earlier, a group of students studying at IIT Bombay campus in Mumbai attempted to insult Lord Rama and Goddess Sita under the guise of ‘freedom of expression and creativity’. The incident is said to have happened during the Performing Arts Festival (PAF) conducted on March 31st at IIT Bombay’s Open Air Theatre (OAT). A group of students staged a play titled ‘Raahovan’ and made disrespectful remarks about Lord Rama and also about Hinduism.
The students scripted the play in a derogatory manner and displayed utter vulgarity through the acts and dialogues. Several videos of the play are making rounds on social media in which the vulgarity displayed in the play can be easily noticed. The performance, allegedly ‘inspired’ by the Ramayana, depicted Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, and Lord Lakshman deploying vulgar conversation and acting. Furthermore, the play made derogatory insinuations about Hindu beliefs and faith.
Lord Ram was also dubbed as a ‘devil’ as he was seen physically abusing Maa Sita in the play. The sequence between Goddess Sita, Lord Ram, and Laxman featured inappropriate language and gestures.
