‘Dear Idli Chutney No Sambhar’: IIT Roorkee blames technical glitch for bizarre email salutations

NEW DELHI: In a bizarre incident, several GATE 2025 candidates reportedly received an email from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) with an unusual greeting that read: “Dear IDLI CHUTNEY NO SAMBHAR." The screenshot of the GATE admit card email is being widely circulated on the social media platforms.

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2025) is scheduled to be conducted from February 1 and February 16. The admit card for the exam was issued on the official website, gate2025.iitr.ac.in.

Soon after this, candidates started sharing the screenshot of the official email received from IIT Roorkee intimating them about the GATE admit card 2025 release. The email read: “Dear DLI CHUTNEY NO SAMBHAR, GATE 2025 Admit Cards are now available to download from the GOAPS portal https://goaps.iitr.ac.in/login. Best of luck for GATE 2025. Regards, GATE-2025 Organizing Team IIT Roorkee”.

After the screenshots went viral, IIT Roorkee acknowledged the “technical glitch in incorrect email salutations” received by a few applicants “while bulk mailing”. “The issue was resolved immediately and emails with correct names were sent to these candidates. We regret the inconvenience caused,” the institute said.

Sharing a screenshot of the GATE admit card notification email, a X user wrote: “This is what the students are receiving in their mail regarding Admit Card for the GATE 2025 from IIT Roorkee. Don’t know whether it’s a technical glitch or a human error.”

“IIT Roorkee team called me idly chutney no sambhar idk how to react but this is racist,” another X user said. Several others also shared the same image.