The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) has imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh each on students who staged a play called 'Raahovan' during the institute's annual performing arts festival. Loosely based on Indian epic 'Ramayana', the play received massive backlash on social media for being derogatory to Lord Ram and disrespectful of Hindu culture.

Besides the fine, which is nearly equal to a semester's fee at the elite institute, the graduating students will not get any recognition in the gymkhana awards. Meanwhile, their juniors have been fined Rs 40,000 each and banned from hostel facilities.

The play, which was staged on March 31, was performed by students from different departments and years. Several videos of the play were shared widely on social media, showing the crowd hooting over a conversation between the students who played Sita and Lakshman.

Complaints alleged that 'Raahovan' showed the lead characters in a bad light. It was also alleged that the play was a mockery of Hindu culture and religious sentiments. Following this, the institute constituted a disciplinary committee. The students who were involved in the play also participated in the meeting.

After much deliberation, the committee imposed the fine and other disciplinary actions.

Those who supported the students claimed that the play was a feminist's take on a tribal society and was well received by everyone.

The IIT Bombay has, however, refused to comment on the action against the students.

In April, the website of Centre-run Pondicherry University was allegedly hacked by a group of Indian hackers for "insulting Ramayana" and "making fun" of Lord Ram during a play staged on the campus in April. They claimed to had thrown the official website out of service in a suspected DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack and had vowed to remove the institution’s page from Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia.

Source: India Today