‘On-campus religiosity on the rise’: Gujarat university professor writes to V-C seeking ban on pujas

A lamp-lighting ceremony at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MS University) has ignited a debate over how far religious practices should enter the campus of a public university, with a professor refusing to participate in the ritual and now urging the Vice-Chancellor to ban pujas, aartis, kathas and the display of religious symbols on the campus.

Jagrut Gadit, Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Technology & Engineering, made the appeal in an open letter to Vice-Chancellor Prof BM Bhanage on Friday, contending that such practices run contrary to the constitutional principle of secularism and undermine the university’s role as a space for open inquiry.

Explaining his decision, he wrote: “Lighting lamps in front of a garlanded image of a deity, removing shoes, folding hands, accompanied by Sanskrit shloka, and strong smell of karpoor(camphor), is a religious performance.

On an official platform of a public university, we cannot do religious rituals. It goes against the basic tenets and structure of our constitution.” Gadit said his objection was not confined to the orientation programme.

He recounted refusing sheera prasad after a Satyanarayan katha conducted by a university department, despite his personal liking for the dish. “I love the sheera and was loath to let it go, especially after inhaling the delicious pure ghee aroma, but because the katha was done on the campus I had to.

Otherwise, I always gorge on the prasad someone brings from home,” he wrote. Invoking the Supreme Court’s 1973 Kesavananda Bharati judgment, Gadit said secularism is part of the Constitution’s basic structure and questioned the presence of religious practices in an institution funded by public money.

“Performing rituals, displaying religious signs, symbols and images in a public institution run by public money is problematic in that sense,” he wrote. He argued that the character of a university made the issue particularly important, saying: “Universities are the place where we encourage open-minded questioning, even of religious beliefs and practices.

Atheism can be a valid course taught on our campus. If we compromise on openness, how can the foundation of fresh thinking crucial for Viksit Bharat play?” Gadit alleged that such practices were becoming increasingly common, with religious rituals accompanying events that were previously marked by simple ceremonies.

“The trend of on-campus religiosity is on the rise. Earlier, we have witnessed many lamp lighting without the fanfare, simply as a symbolic act. Nowadays even the inauguration of new facilities or labs etc., which previously was simple ribbon cutting, becomes a small religious ritual where even a brahmin is called for some vidhi and say shlokas etc.” He also claimed that deity images were displayed in university offices, laboratories and classrooms and that some temples had come up on campus.

While acknowledging the emotions involved, he said personal religious preferences should not be imposed on a public university. The issue, he said, surfaced again on Friday when students from his department invited him to a Ganesh Utsav planned at a university hostel and sought a donation.

Gadit said he declined, citing the same reasons, and the students withdrew after expressing disappointment. Gadit urged the Vice-Chancellor to formulate a policy prohibiting religious rituals such as aarti, puja and katha and the open display of religious symbols, images and temples.

He proposed retaining temples inherited from the Maharaja from before the university was established in 1949, while removing those created later. Speaking to The Indian Express, Gadit said, "I have been in the university since 1991 and although Satyanarayan Kathas have been a part, lamp lighting ceremonies were simple and symbolic.

Gradually, it turned more into a religious event than a symbolic one and as I am to retire shortly, looking at how the younger generation is becoming conformist, I thought I must write this letter… I personally feel that religious beliefs should be left out of university campuses." Referring to Bhanage’s Independence Day appeal to students to protect democratic values, Gadit questioned whether the university’s practices could send students a contradictory message about the country’s constitutional and democratic values.

When contacted, Vice-Chancellor Prof Bhanage said he was "unaware" about the letter as he was travelling. Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field.

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