The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi on Monday stated that it has formed a fact-finding committee after a row erupted online about the speakers and content of a conference on caste and race organised by the college’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences earlier this month.
The institute said that it has also sought an explanation from the faculty who organised the conference.
The event, titled “Celebrating 25 Years of Durban: Indian Contributions to Combatting Caste and Racism” as part of the Critical Philosophy of Caste and Race Conference, was held between January 16 and 18 on the campus.
The conference was organised by Divya Dwivedi, a professor at the institute, and Sowjanya Tamalapakula, an associate professor of Woxsen University in Hyderabad. It was supported by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
A concept note on the conference said that the event focused on the “histories and futures of the arduous and brilliant efforts of the oppressed groups”, and aspires towards comprehensive documentation, understanding and theorisation of descent-based discrimination.
It also looked at increased ethical sensitivity to the harms such discrimination inflicts on large sections of society, said the note, adding that it was meant to engage in advocacy for social equality in law, policy, and the institutional and social everyday life
The three-day conference featured keynote lectures and panel sessions by scholars from Indian and foreign universities. One of the papers presented was by an independent researcher, Aarushi Punia, titled “What’s Common Between Dalits and Palestinians?”
Speakers included activists such as Ruth Manorama and Thenmozhi Soundararajan, historian Shailaja Paik and Tamil writer P Sivakami.
The conference was met with criticism on social media, with several posts describing it as “woke nonsense” and asking why a “technological institute” was organising such an event when it “should be holding discussions about AI [Artificial Intelligence]”, The Hindu reported.
Users also objected to the allegedly “one-sided narrative on caste”.
Some criticised Punia’s presentation.
In a statement on Monday, IIT-Delhi said that serious concerns had been raised about the choice of speakers and content at the conference.
“The institute has sought an explanation from the concerned faculty, and a fact‑finding committee with independent members has also been set up to investigate concerns raised about the conference,” it said on social media. “Appropriate actions will be initiated in accordance with institutional protocols, based on the committee’s findings.”
The statement added that the institute “remains committed to national goals, academic integrity, and established institutional guidelines”.
On Tuesday, The Indian Express quoted Dwivedi as saying that the conference was academic in its aim and scope, adding that it was held “to generate critical thinking on social inequalities towards an egalitarian and sustainable world, and it builds on existing academic research and publications including mine which can be looked up”.
The professor added: “The conference is devoted to promoting the constitutional values of equality, liberty, dignity and fraternity through scholarly discussion of the past and present Indian contributions towards combating social inequalities and social injustice.”
An unidentified faculty member of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences also told the newspaper that the conference was an academic one that had been taking place for years.
“Just a few weeks ago, there was a conference on Hindutva on campus and no one raised any questions against such conferences,” the newspaper quoted the member as saying.
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