At IITs, a long-brewing ‘culture war’ between engineering and humanities boils over

At India's premier engineering schools, the humanities and social sciences or HSS have become a put-down. "Oh, you're being so HSS" is what students say to anyone seen as too "woke".

This tension has now surfaced again at IIT Bombay where the protests following the passing away of student Sahil Wakode, were largely lead by humanities doctoral students. Engineers describe a "hyper-apolitical" campus, while humanities faculty say that the division comes from a shallow idea of education.

Critics outside the campus though, have questioned the need for humanities in these institutes in the first place, and have called for the departments to be shut, though humanities have been part of the plan for IITs since 1945.

So, why does the IIT humanities student draw so much hostility, and why can't they talk it out?

Tune in.

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