IIT Bombay students fined for staging ‘disrespectful’ play

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has come down with a heavy hand on eight students who staged a play called ‘Raahovan’ at the institute’s Performing Arts Festival on 31 March. The play had raised the hackles of a group of students, who claimed that it hurt their religious sentiments, writes Niraj Pandit for the Hindustan Times.

IIT Bombay took up the issue in a disciplinary action committee meeting held on 8 May and informed all the students about the action to be taken on 4 June. The institute has imposed a fine of INR120,000 (US$1,400) each on four students who will graduate from the institute this July. According to sources, the four other students, who are undergraduates, have been asked to pay a fine of INR40,000 each and have also been ordered to vacate their hostel accommodation.

Videos of ‘Raavohan’ had quickly circulated on social media, igniting a debate on artistic freedom versus religious sensibilities. In the play, a ‘feminist’ interpretation of the Ramayana, character names were changed. However, a controversy ensued, as some viewers deemed the play offensive and disrespectful to religious sentiments.
Full report on the Hindustan Times site