IIM Ahmedabad faculty against institute's logo change

 As a part of the proposal for change, two new logos had been proposed — one for international consumption and the other for domestic purposes.

While the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad is mulling to change its historic logo, a section of the faculty of the institute is against the proposal to change its iconic logo. The group of faculty against the change of the logo states that this move “will have far-reaching implications and long-term consequences” on the institute’s brand and stakeholders.

IIM-A Board approved the proposal during a meeting conducted recently. Talking about the decision taken by the Board, former IIMA director Bakul Dholakia said, the proposal “defies logic and reason” and will “dilute the identity” of the country’s foremost business school.

According to the official website of IIM-A, the existing logo, inspired by latticework or jaalis of the Siddi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad, has a Sanskrit Shloka “Vidya Viniyogat Vikasa”. Dr Vikram Sarabhai played a key role in picking it.

According to the Indian Express, Dholakia, who served as IIMA director between 2002 and 2007, said he was aware that at least 45 faculty members had signed the letter.

“The logo is our identity – the jaali and the Sanskrit verse define us and our Indian ethos. For us, it is a symbol of our Indianness, our connection with “vidya”, our link to the institute. It is our commitment to “vikas” of the country, industry, society, students and management discipline. It is our philosophy and mission statement. Any change in the same, either in artistic rendition or change in verse, is an assault on our identity. The change in logo is sure to have a long-lasting impact on the IIMA brand,” stated the letter.

The letter further informed that as a part of the proposal for change, two new logos had been proposed — one for international consumption and the other for domestic purposes. The institute informed the faculty about the proposed changes in the academic council meeting on March 4.

“The faculty members were never informed that there is a need to redesign the logo. Nor was a  committee formed, that we are aware of, whose term of reference include logo redesign. No inputs were sought from faculty; no presentations were made to the Academic Council or any other faculty body,” added the letter.

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