IIT students fined Rs 1.2 lakh for derogatory depiction of Ramayana

MUMBAI: Students who staged a play of Ramayana have been fined heavily. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has directed eight students to pay a huge fine for staging the play Raahovan. The play, loosely based on Ramayana showed the main characters in a derogatory manner.

The students performed the skit on March 31 as part of IIT’s Arts Festival. The action came after a group of students filed a complaint against the play, alleging that the skit was based on the Ramayana and contained derogatory references to Hindu beliefs and gods. The complaint also said that the skit mocked cultural values while promoting feminism.

The action came after IIT Bombay formed a committee following the complaint and conducted a detailed inquiry into the allegations. Four students who performed the skit were fined Rs 1.2 lakh each and four others were fined Rs 40,000 each. Senior students were barred from campus award distribution program and junior students were barred from hostel facilities.

The Dean's office has given strict instructions to the students that they should pay the fine by June 20, otherwise they will face further action. Visuals of the skit performed by the students went viral on social media. Meantime, many came forward criticizing the huge fine imposed to the students. Some said colleges should be places of freedom of thought and students should be free to raise their voices. Some commented that the penalty should be withdrawn.