‘Maintain caste hierarchy’: IIT Bombay seminar on ‘science of begetting good progeny’ draws flak

NEW DELHI: The Centre for Sanskrit Learning at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay will organise a seminar on “Garbhavigyan - The science of begetting a good progeny’’ today, January 18. Online, it is being criticised for allegedly promoting casteism.

Acharya Mehul Shastri from Sanskruti Arya Gurukulam will conduct the seminar from 5 pm to 7 pm, says an email from the centre to the IIT Bombay community. The email has been circulated online with one user on X (formerly Twitter) remarking, “Might as well call it 'How to maintain caste hierarchy & destroy society.”

Another commented, “This is shameful and pathetic”

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IIT Bombay ‘Garbhavigyan’ seminar

The email to the IIT Bombay community lists out a set of topics that the seminar will cover. These include “factors influencing the internal and external qualities of the child”; “how our ancestors influence the qualities of the child”; “the health of the mother and fetus during pregnancy”; “preparation of the mind and body before pregnancy”; “consequences of carelessness during pregnancy”; and “some rules for garbhasanskar”.

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The institute recently cancelled an even organised by the gender cell and then replaced it with a different set of speakers. This was not lost on social media users.

“IIT Bombay regularly cancels talks and events focusing on gender issues, caste, etc while promoting this sh*t,” said one.