The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, one of India’s most prestigious engineering institutions, has found itself in controversy after its name appeared linked to a workshop that openly mocked top political leaders of the country. The event in question directly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, raising sharp criticism about the institute’s role.

The workshop, titled “South asian Capitalisms (s)”, is a two-day programme co-sponsored by UC Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The organisers described it as a free-to-attend academic event that aims to examine how “capitalist accumulation is socially structured across South Asia.” It was scheduled to be held on 12th and 13th September.

The controversy erupted when columnist Harshil Mehta shared a poster of the event on X (formerly Twitter). The poster displayed a “pyramid of capitalist India” and one of its sections carried the bold words “We fool you”. Alongside, caricatures of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and Yogi Adityanath were drawn, implying that these leaders were tricking ordinary citizens.

This workshop is hosted by the New Political Economic Initiative (NPEI), a body that functions directly under IIT Bombay. The initiative is headed by Anush Kapadia, who has reportedly received US $4 million (around ₹35 crore) in funding from the Ford Foundation.

What has raised further questions is the background of Kapadia. He is a UK citizen but serves as an Associate Professor at IIT Bombay. In terms of academic contribution, his record is limited—he has authored just two journal papers in ten years, and his H-index stands at 7, a relatively low measure of research impact and productivity.

As criticism grew, IIT Bombay issued a clarification on X. The institute distanced itself from the poster and denied prior knowledge. The official statement read: “IIT Bombay has a project related to 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 institute further added: “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.”

Following this statement, IIT Bombay declared that it would cut off associations with faculty members belonging to UC Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in relation to the programme.

However, another twist followed. It was soon revealed that IIT Bombay had blocked columnist Harshil Mehta on social media. Questioning the move, Mehta wrote: “Why IIT Bombay’s official account has blocked me? Is questioning public institutions and mis governance a crime? This is a public and official account. Then why this childish behaviour? Is defending @narendramodi a crime?”

This was not the first time Mehta had raised concerns about academic practices at IIT Bombay. Earlier, he highlighted that a faculty member, Prabhir Vishnu Poruthiyil, who is “essentially on the payroll of the Indian government,” had published a paper describing big businesses as collaborators of fascism. He also noted how Poruthiyil had echoed the arguments of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the subject of “wealth redistribution.