IIT-Delhi’s Move on Ramdev Ignites Ire

IIT Delhi’s move to invite yoga guru Ramdev and RSS members to a Function has raised the eyebrows of a certain section of the student community. The move has turned the spotlight on the government’s agenda of saffronising education again. In the proposed function, they have a plan to leverage the technical strength of the IITs for the development of rural areas. Ramdev and members of RSS’s Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram had attended the meeting on implementation of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in January this year along with other stakeholders and professors associated with the programme, including chairman of IIT Delhi Board of Governors, Vijay Bhatkar. The meeting, which saw discussions on importance of cows in addressing rural issues, had come at a time when former IIT Delhi Director R Shevgaonkar had stepped down from his post following allegations of interference by the HRD ministry. While Union HRD minister Smriti Irani had consistently denied allegations of saffronisation of education, she spoke to RSS affiliated bodies Saturday on the Centre’s new education policy. (With inputs from PTI)