ot long ago, a group of women were banned from wearing hijabs in the classroom in the state of Karnataka under the guise of ensuring that “religion does not enter the classrooms.” And today, we see majoritarianism in the garb of religion entering every classroom and every corner of one of the most prestigious colleges in India, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B).  As the “inauguration” of the Ayodhya structure comes close, with the union government going all out to ensure involvement of all citizens (union government employees being given a holiday, RBI closing financial dealings and markets!) and with “celebrations” being imposed on Monday, January 22, news has surfaced that the IIT Bombay administration is organising a series of events on campus related to the Ram temple ceremony. These events include a ‘Shriram Darbar Shobha Yatra’, a musical event called ‘Ramdhun’ inspired by the Geet Ramayan and the inauguration of a ‘Gaushala’ on the campus!

According to multiple media reports, huge banners and posters have cropped up along the campus showing that a religious procession named “Shriram darbar shobha yatra” will be organised on January 21. In addition to this, an email sent by the institute’s administration to all students and residents on campus on January 17 announced a musical event titled “Ramdhun”, inspired by the Geet Ramayan, is scheduled for January 20 at the IDC auditorium within the campus.

As per a report of News18, the said email sent by the institute’s public relation office read “It is a pleasure to share the announcement with you of a program, based on the celebrated ‘Geet Ramayan’, on coming Saturday, January 20 at 4:30pm in the IDC auditorium…The program ‘Ramdhun’, will present a selection of songs from ‘Geet Ramayan’ together with some ‘Ram Bhajans’. The performers are from IIT-B community, including the spouses and children of staff and faculty members as well as some students. Hoping to see many of you in the program.” The News18 report also provided that when their team contacted the institute’s spokesperson on the events, they denied holding any event officially.

This story was originally published in sabrangindia.in. Read the full story here .