No link with UC Berkeley event, says IIT after poster with political caricatures triggers row

Stating that the institute will conduct an investigation into the matter, the IIT also said it would henceforth cease to associate with the concerned faculty members from UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The “flyer” at the centre of controversy, titled Pyramid of Capitalist India, has a pyramid structure where the top row shows caricatures of business tycoons with a statement, “we rule you”. The second row depicts caricatures resembling leaders of the ruling party, with a statement, “we fool you”. The third row depicts security personnel with a statement, “we shoot at you” and the bottom two layers of the pyramid depicts upwardly mobile middle class and mass working force with two statements, “we work for all” and “we feed all”.

In a statement issued on its official social media handle on Wednesday night, IIT Bombay stated, “A post on X.com regarding a flyer of a workshop on South Asian Capitalism was brought to the attention of the Institute authorities. This workshop is to be held at University of Berkeley in partnership with UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts-Amherst for young scholars. IIT Bombay has a project related to the New Political Economic Initiative. However, we were totally unaware about the published flyer. Upon hearing about this post, we issued immediate instructions to the organisers to take down the flyer from all social media platforms and remove IIT Bombay’s name from everything to do with this event.”

The clarification issued by the institute further stated, “The details of the programme have been removed from the website of New Political Economy Initiative with immediate effect. No one from IIT Bombay is attending the conference. The Institute was not at all consulted about the flyer. We are deeply shocked and upset by its content. The Institute will cease to associate with these faculty members from UC Berkeley and University of Massachusetts-Amherst going forward. Further investigation into the matter will be conducted.”

Co-sponsored by UC Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the event is set to explore how “capitalist accumulation is socially structured across South Asia”.

An email sent to UC Berkeley did not elicit any response.