The prestigious IIT Gandhinagar has stirred a massive controversy after allegations of imposition of Islamic theology PhD students in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department (HSS). A social media outrage erupted over what is being called an ideological takeover of the Humanities departments of India’s elite educational institutions, after a social media user revealed PhD thesis topics centred on Islamic studies are being undertaken at the institute’s HSS department.
These topics include “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.”
Is IIT Gandhinagar promoting Islamic theology and ethnography?
More than a neutral inquiry into Islamic history or a critical analysis of Islamic theology, these themes come across as endorsement and glorification of dogmas connected with Islamic theology.
Amidst the outrage over India’s government-run premier institute promoting Islamic theology, Nishaant Choksi, who is an Associate Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, is alleged to have threatened students with disciplinary action against students who violated the ‘honour code’.
A purported email sent by Choksi to the students has surfaced on social media. In the email, Choksi reportedly wrote, ““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 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.”
As per the material shared by social media users online, the following is what the thesis topics read:
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 PerezSummary: 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.
This essentially comes across more as a forced integration of Islamic theology and ethnography within government-funded institutional research than cultural studies. These masters-level dissertations supported by IIT Gandhinagar professors hint at an alleged systematic attempt at mainstreaming and promoting Islamic theology among students. What makes it even more alarming is the threat of action against students who raised questions over a state-funded educational institution endorsing Islamic themes.
Hindu students purportedly gagged and hounded for condemning Pahalgam terror attack
Screenshots of purported WhatsApp chats of IIT Gandhinagar students suggest Hindu students being threatened against leaking controversial emails and condemning the Pahalgam terror attack
While the outrage over these thesis topics is yet to subside, a screenshot of a purported WhatsApp of a Hindu student at IIT Gandhinagar has raised eyebrows. Alarmingly, the alleged conversation indicates that Hindu students at the institution are not only being deterred from sharing internal emails on social media but also being stopped from speaking on the Pahalgam terror attack, wherein Hindus were singled out and shot dead by Pakistan-backed Islamic terrorists, for simply being Hindus.
The chats suggest that while talking about the Pahalgam attack, wherein Islamic terrorists killed Hindus, is barred, candle marches are taken to show solidarity with Palestinian Muslims. The purported chats suggest that just seven days after Palestinian Islamic terror group Hamas carried out a terror attack in Israel on 7th October 2023, a Sham-e-Azadi march was held at IIT Gandhinagar to extend support and solidarity to Palestine.
As per these chats, a second year student Mohammed Luqman had proposed AI research topic centred on Islamic theology.
In the purported chat, one of the students alleged: “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 added: “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.”
The entire episode has sparked outrage and demands are being raised that the IIT Gandhinagar’s director initiate an investigation. Moreover, people are seeking the government’s immediate intervention into the matter.
