BENGALURU: The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) faced heavy criticism for hosting the ‘India-Israel Business Summit’ on its campus on Monday. A petition by 1,500 students was submitted to the IISc director, urging the institution to stop participating in events with a country that is violating international laws and is at war with Palestine.
While students were silently registering their protest inside the campus, civil society groups assembled outside IISc and held a press conference which was interrupted by the police. Members of civil society and academia said by participating in the event, institutions such as IISc, International Institute of Information Technology-Bengaluru (IIIT-B), Indian Institute of Management-Bengaluru (IIM-B) and National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), failed to support global boycott calls and undermined the fundamental values of academic institutions.
Clifton D’ Rozario, General Secretary of All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice (AILAJ), said, “We are witnessing a genocide in Palestine, and yet our institutions are partnering with Israel for business. The International Court of Justice has directed states not to engage with Israel on these grounds, and it’s deeply troubling that IISc continues to facilitate such events.”
Meanwhile, the IISc’s registrar claimed that they had no idea about the event and it was just rented out for the summit without specific details. However, activists recalled IISc’s actions on stopping activist Teesta Setalvad from participating in an event in 2023, just hours before its scheduled time.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) responded that IISc scrutinises every event that takes place inside the campus.
Prajval Shastri, an astrophysicist, said, “We must ask ourselves, are these institutions about creating knowledge for peace and equitable wellbeing, or are they promoting war and violence? Hosting such summits aligns them with the genocide taking place in Palestine. IISc claims they just rented the space, but this is far more than that. I’m deeply pained by this unscientific, genocidal summit being co-organised by IISc, NIAS, IIIT-B, IIM-B and the Government of Karnataka.”
Meanwhile, another programme Haifa Memorial Lectures was hosted by Mysore Lancers at IISc in the evening, which included guests such as Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao. This event also saw invited members host the Israel flag. Activists condemned the actions of politicians and IISc for participating in such events.