Pro-Hamas narrative given platform at IIT-B? Students file police plaint for 'pro-Hamas' lecture

The students of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) filed a police complaint for allegedly extending an invitation to a pro-Hamas professor to give a talk at the institute.

Witness and complainant Omkar Supekar, a student of IIT Bombay filed a complaint seeking action against Prof Sharmishtha Saha, who invited Sudhanva Deshpande to conduct the lecture. The complaint sought action against Deshpande for allegedly supporting Hamas and terrorists during the talk. The said lecture happened on November 6 (Monday), when the Vice President was also invited to a separate lecture in the institute.

The students alleged that Sudhanva was intentionally invited the day when Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar’s lecture was already scheduled. Supekar said, “She (Prof Sharmishtha Saha) organised a documentary and she invited the person Sudhanva Deshpande as a guest speaker to talk about the documentary. He started his speech with a one-sided narrative and glorified the acts of the militants of Palestine. In fact, he called one of the Palestine militant Zakaria Zubeidi a legend. Further, he also mentioned the name of Ghassan Kanafani and he called upon the need to fight a war and we need arms, in a way supporting the violent battle and the armed rebellion.”

A Twitter handle IIT B for Bharat said, “Prof Sharmistha Saha of @iitbombay invites Sudhanva Deshpande under the pretext of Course 'Performance Theory & Praxis'. Deshpande admits to having met Palestinian militant Zakaria Zubeidi in 2015. He further defends violence & armed rebellion. Zubeidi's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took the responsibility for the Nov 2002 terrorist attack in Bet She'an in which 6 civilians died.”

Consul General of Israel to Midwest India Kobbi Shoshani stated in a post on social media, ‘’Shocking to read about the screening of a documentary of terrorists at @IITBombay. I am happy that alert students and office bearers of @iitbforbharat caught them red handed. I will be happy to visit there and share the real.''