The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has asked organizers of a recent conference on caste and race to explain their choice of speakers and content, following public criticism. The institute has also formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the matter. The event, held earlier this month, focused on Indian contributions to combating discrimination.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi's Department of Humanities and Social Sciences has organized a conference that has sparked controversy. Titled 'Critical Philosophy of Caste & Race (CPCR3): Celebrating 25 Years of Durban: Indian Contributions to Combatting Caste and Racism', the event took place from January 16 to 18 in the Senate Hall of IIT-D's main building.
On Monday, the institute issued a statement on its official X handle, stating: "Serious concerns have been raised over the choice of speakers and content of the conference. The Institute has sought an explanation from the concerned faculty, and a fact-finding committee with independent members has also been set up to investigate concerns raised about the conference. Appropriate actions will be initiated in accordance with institutional protocols, based on the committee’s findings." It added that IIT Delhi "remains committed to national goals, academic integrity, and established institutional guidelines".
The statement came after critical posts on X objecting to an allegedly "one-sided narrative on caste" and "woke nonsense" discussed by "radical activists". The conference opened on January 16 with an introduction by Divya Dwivedi, professor of literature and philosophy, and a welcome note by Abhijit Banerji, head of the department. Over three days, scholars and activists from Indian and foreign universities delivered keynote lectures and panel sessions on caste, race, and descent-based discrimination.
On the third day, in Session 5 chaired by Gajendran Ayyathurai from the University of Göttingen in Germany, independent researcher Aarushi Punia presented a paper titled 'What’s common between Dalits and Palestinians?'. Other speakers included Indian American Dalit rights activist Thenmozhi Soundararajan on '25 Years of Racial and Caste Equity Impact of Durban on Dalit Americans', Smita M Patil from IGNOU's School of Gender and Development Studies on 'Intensifying the Culture: Rethinking Race and Caste', and Tamil writer P Sivakami on 'The Intersectional Struggle: Decoding Caste and Gender in P Sivakami’s Narratives'.
Responding via email, Professor Dwivedi stated: "The conference is academic in its aim and scope, which is to generate critical thinking on social inequalities towards an egalitarian and sustainable world... The speakers include scholars, award-winning academics, writers and artists." A humanities faculty member noted that the CPCR conference has occurred for years with past concerns raised, but this is the first time the institute has formed a committee. A recent on-campus conference on Hindutva drew no such questions. The organizers' concept note emphasized documenting and theorizing descent-based discrimination and the efforts of oppressed groups.