IIT Mandi Director sparks controversy, says landslides and cloudbursts  in Himachal because people eat ‘Meat’

Last year Prof Behera landed in a controversy after a video surfaced online in which he was heard saying he was involved in an act of exorcism to rid his friend's apartment and family of evil spirits

IIT Mandi Director Prof Laxmidhar Behera is facing criticism from various academics after he stroke controversy for asking students to take a pledge not to eat meat. Prof Behera also claimed that the landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh are happening because of cruelty to animals.

While addressing a group of students IIT Mandi Director said: “Himachal Pradesh will have a significant downfall...if we do not stop butchering animals. You are butchering animals there... the innocent animals. It has a symbiotic relationship with the degradation of the environment as well... which you cannot see right now but is there.”

A video clip of Prof Behera doing rounds on social media and academics from various institutions have criticised the statement made by the IIT Mandi Director.

Rahul Siddharthan, a Professor at the Institute of Mathematical Sciences writes on X: “The most objectionable part was his making children repeat after him that they will not eat meat. Wasn't there a single adult in the room willing to speak up?”

In the video which has surfaced online, the Director can be heard telling the students sitting in an auditorium to shun meat-eating to become good human beings.

“To become a good human being what do you have to do?” the IIT director asks and then states “No to meat eating,” says IIT Mandi Director.

Last year Prof Behera landed in a controversy after a video surfaced online in which he was heard saying he was involved in an act of exorcism to rid his friend's apartment and family of evil spirits by chanting holy mantras.

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