IIT Gandhinagar Humanities Department in Soup ; Education Ministry Urged to Intervene

May 02, 2025
Gujarat

Gandhinagar: A controversy has erupted involving IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN), raising concerns about the increasing ideological influence within the Humanities departments of India’s premier technical institutions, on which the government spends huge money of tax payers. Scores of internet right handles on microblogging platform X (formerly twitter) have urged centre’s Education Ministry to intervene.

This controversy surrounding IIT Gandhinagar and its Humanities Department sparked off  after a social media post went viral about an AI project revolving around Islamic studies being carried out at the institute. The project reportedly highlights several thesis topics from the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) department, such as:

  • “Fishing With Faith: Islam, Indigenous Knowledge, and Ecological Sustainability in Lakshadweep”
  • “Robes of Authority: Sunni Ulama, Sartorial Tradition, and Embodied Piety in Malabar”
  • “From Gods to Jinn: Ontological Rewriting and the Islamization of Spirits in Kerala”
  • “Beyond Cultural Brokers: Speech Mediation and Ritual Efficacy in Mosque Speeches in Kozhikode”

After the post went viral, Nishaant Choksi, an Associate Professor at IITGN who is in center of this controversy, reportedly threatened disciplinary action against students who leaked the information. A screenshot of the professor’s reported email has come to light, in which the professor states:

“It has come to our attention that someone has been circulating screenshots of internal HSS emails about MASC thesis topics, including the names of students and supervisors, to individuals who are posting them out of context on social media in a derogatory, offensive, and potentially dangerous manner.”

Calling it a serious breach of privacy and trust, Choksi added:

“This is a breach of our honor code, and any students found engaging in such activities will be reported to SSAC.”

The professor’s message raises questions about what is being concealed and why the public and even other departments are being kept in the dark about a project conducted at a government-funded institute run with taxpayer money.

Amid these developments, a WhatsApp chat allegedly from a Hindu student surfaced on Twitter, revealing disturbing claims. The conversation suggests Hindu students are being threatened and pressured—not just over the leak of internal emails but also being barred from speaking out about recent terror attacks on Hindus in Pahalgam, Kashmir. Students are reportedly being threatened with disciplinary action if they raise their voices against the Pahalgam terror attack, while candle marches were being organized in support of Palestine.

One student alleged in the chat:

“Our Language Aesthetics professor vo Nishant Choksi, is threatening us with consequences if we even speak about the Islamic AI research paper with anyone outside the class. They’ve already warned us that if we talk about it, they’ll fail Hindus in his paper.”

The student further claimed:

“They also told us to not post on the recent attack on Hindus in Kashmir. Bol rahe the Islamophobia hota hai ese openly outrage karne se. Uske liye bhi bola ki results and disciplinary action lenge if code is violated. Palestine ke liye 2023 aur 2024 mein candle march and reading session hua tha. Entrance exam mein haar saal Palestine pe passage aata hai. Lekin Kashmir pe Instagram stories lagana bhi mana kar diya. Ek Adrija hai vo sab toh open Hinduphobes hai.”

These revelations raise serious questions about the functioning of Humanities departments at IIT, where, under the pretext of preventing “Islamophobia,” fear is allegedly being instilled among Hindu students.

It is also noteworthy that while students are discouraged from speaking about the Pahalgam terror attack, an event called Shaam-e-Azadi was held at the same institute in support of Palestine on 15th Oct 2023, just seven days after the horrific Hamas terror attack in Israel that killed hundreds of people.

Many on social media believe this reflects a deliberate attempt to disrupt relations with a friendly nation, calling the act “illegal” and demanding an investigation by the IITGN Director and the government.

 

The Commune magazine in its report opines this episode as disturbing snapshot of India’s elite technical institutions being hijacked by ideological forces. The magazine in its article further opines that this episode has exposed the extent to which the Humanities departments have become breeding grounds for secrecy, intimidation, and even potential exploitation.

The magazine in its article observes – ‘many of thesis topics in the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) department are steeped in Islamic theological themes — presented not critically or historically, but with ideological approval masked as academic inquiry.Many of these theses appear less like neutral studies and more like glorified endorsements of religious dogma, funded by taxpayer money under the guise of social science. That this is happening in a premier science and technology institution is a scandal in itself…… what is more disturbing than the ideological bent is the environment of fear and control being imposed by faculty. In his email, Choksi refers to an “honor code” and decries the sharing of internal academic information as a “serious breach.” One wonders: what is being hidden that the public — or even other departments — should not see? ….Humanities departments in IITs have, for years now, operated with little scrutiny. There is growing anecdotal evidence of harassment, especially of Hindu and female students, in environments where professors are granted unchecked authority under vague principles of academic freedom… Students are being inducted into an ideological pipeline. And when concerns are raised, instead of transparency, the response is threats, committees, and “honor codes” that resemble the coercive codes of closed cults more than scholarly institutions… The purpose is to advance technology and science, not to become satellite departments for ideological indoctrination…Humanities departments — as they currently function — must be removed from IITs. Or at the very least, subject to the same transparency and accountability that technical departments are. If a department cannot withstand public scrutiny, then it does not belong in a public institution… The Ministry of Education and the IIT Council must step in. This is about preserving the sanctity of institutions funded by the Indian public, meant to serve the Indian public, not manipulate them.’

Research theses abstracts:

Title: Robes of Authority: Sunni Ulama, Sartorial Tradition, and Embodied Piety in Malabar
Supervisors: Madhumita Sengupta & Rosa Maria Perez
Summary: This thesis examines how Sunni Islamic scholars (ulama) in Malabar, Kerala, assert religious authority not only through knowledge and teachings but also through their clothing and behavior. It explores how their attire and bodily presentation serve as symbols of moral and religious authority, deeply tied to regional Islamic traditions and cultural continuity.

Title: Fishing With Faith: Islam, Indigenous Knowledge and Ecological Sustainability in Lakshadweep
Supervisor: Rosa Maria Perez
Summary: This work explores how Islamic faith practices integrate with traditional ecological knowledge in Lakshadweep. It suggests that religious beliefs influence sustainable fishing practices among the island’s Muslim communities, merging spiritual life with environmental conservation.

Title: From Gods to Jinn: Ontological Rewriting and the Islamization of Spirits in Kerala
Supervisor: Sharada Visweswara
Summary: This thesis investigates how indigenous spiritual beliefs in Kerala are reinterpreted and transformed under Islamic influence. It focuses on how traditional spirit entities are being recast as Islamic jinns, altering local ontologies and spiritual landscapes.

Title: Beyond Cultural Brokers: Speech Mediation and Ritual Efficacy in Mosque Speeches in Kozhikode
Supervisor: Nishaant Choksi
Summary: This research examines how speech acts in mosques in Kozhikode function beyond just translation or communication. It argues that imams and speakers play key roles in shaping ritual experiences and religious meanings, emphasizing their performative and mediating functions in the community.

Collectively, these theses reveal an academic trend that embeds Islamic theology and ethnography within state-funded institutional research under the guise of cultural studies.

The Professor in Soup

Professor Nishaant Choksi who is in the center of this controversy had in his article in 2022 criticized “militaristic ideology … under the right wing, nationalist government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. Choksi also criticized media for targeting Muslims during Covid19 and stated – Muslims were considered as waging a religious war for the virus, encapsulated in the term Corona Jihad resulting in targeted attacks against India’s largest minority community. The professor can also be seen in the video on Youtube speaking about Police’s entry into educational campuses, Chinese and French students’ revolution and more.

Who will watch what’s happening in our Educational institutions?

Large number of users on social media are asking now, who is there to keep watch over what’s happening in our educational institutions for which the government spends 1000s of crores of Rupees paid by tax payers. Indoctrination, proselytizing, brainwash of students allegedly happening by marxist and so called liberals in the garb of education has previously created controversy at JNU, Jadavpur, Jamiya and many other institutions. The Government of Gujarat gave a huge land for setting of IIT Gandhinagar at key location, while the Government of India spends huge money for this campus, but not for such controversial things that are happening under the title of humanities. The institutions should operate in island fashion. DeshGujarat

#higher education #IIT Gandhinagar #IITGN

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