2 days ago
IIT Kanpur’s ISKCON Well-Being MoU Sparks Scientific Temper Row
IIT Kanpur made a two-year agreement with ISKCON to offer optional courses for students.
The courses may discuss stress management, wellness, self-management and personal development.
Each course would have eight one-hour sessions.
Students do not have to join them.
Some students, alumni and social-media users criticized the agreement because ISKCON is a religious organisation.
They said stress and mental-health concerns should be handled by psychologists and other trained professionals.
They also questioned whether the partnership fits the scientific approach expected at an IIT.
Director Manindra Agrawal said meditation is not pseudoscience and can have a calming effect.
The institute later deleted its announcement from X, although Agrawal said he did not know about the deletion.
IIT Kanpur signed a two-year MoU with ISKCON for voluntary student well-being and educational programmes.
Proposed certified courses cover self-management, wellness, personal development, stress management and self-esteem.
Each course would consist of eight one-hour sessions, with participation entirely voluntary.
Students, alumni and social-media users questioned involving a religious organisation in mental-health and value-based initiatives at a science institution.
IIT Kanpur later deleted its announcement from X; Director Manindra Agrawal defended meditation and said he was unaware of the deletion.
- Who
- IIT Kanpur, ISKCON, Director Manindra Agrawal, and critics including students, alumni and social-media users.
- What
- A two-year MoU allowing ISKCON to conduct voluntary courses and programmes on student well-being, stress management, personal development and value-based education.
- Where
- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- When
- The MoU was announced on a Saturday, and the announcement was deleted from IIT Kanpur’s social-media account on Monday.
- Why
- The stated aim is to support students’ personal growth, holistic development, ethical values, self-discipline and well-being alongside academic education.
IIT Kanpur and MoU Supporters
Critics of the Collaboration
ISKCON’s role in student support
IIT Kanpur and MoU Supporters
IIT Kanpur said the MoU offers voluntary programmes for student well-being and personal growth. Director Manindra Agrawal said the institute is open to organisations that offer help and have a track record of doing well.
Critics of the Collaboration
Critics questioned why a religious organisation was selected for stress management and student well-being, saying psychologists, mental-health professionals and other specialists should provide this support.
Meditation and scientific temper
IIT Kanpur and MoU Supporters
Agrawal said meditation is not pseudoscience and has well-documented benefits, including a calming effect on the mind.
Critics of the Collaboration
Critics argued that involving ISKCON could blur the distinction between scientific education, which they associate with evidence and questioning, and religion, which they associate with faith and doctrine.
Value-based education on campus
IIT Kanpur and MoU Supporters
The institute described the collaboration as a way to complement academic education with ethical values, self-discipline, personal growth and holistic development.
Critics of the Collaboration
Some students and alumni said education and religion should not intersect and called instead for evidence-based science, professional counselling, philosophy and social-science approaches.
Key facts
- Institutions
- Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and ISKCON
- Agreement duration
- Two years
- Participation
- Entirely voluntary for interested IIT Kanpur students
- Course format
- Eight one-hour sessions per course
- Course subjects
- Self-management, wellness, personal development, stress management and self-esteem
- Announcement status
- IIT Kanpur later deleted its announcement from X
- Related precedent
- IIT Mandi signed an MoU with ISKCON’s Bhaktivedanta Research Centre in 2025
Quotes
Manindra Agrawal
Director of IIT Kanpur
“A country whose Constitution asks citizens to develop a scientific temper, spirit of inquiry and reform is now watching one of its premier science institutions advertise “value-based education” with a deeply controversial religious organisation like ISKCON.”
theprint.in
“We are always looking for help for students on campus who are facing difficulties. Anybody who offers help and has a track record of doing well, we are open to taking it.”
theprint.in
Niles Mondal
IIT Kanpur student who criticised the collaboration
“Do we not have psychologists in this country for stress management? Do we not have mental health professionals? Behavioral scientists? Philosophers, sociologists, and educationists?”
theprint.in
Sources
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