New Delhi: IIT Mandi has ordered an inquiry over a poster on its campus that said “Shudras should serve higher classes”, reported Press Trust of India. The poster, titled “Bhagavad Gita – The Timeless Wisdom”, was displayed outside the institute’s auditorium and divided society into Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras.The poster described the role of Brahmins as to “spread God’s message”, Kshatriyas as to “protect society and spirituality”, Vaishyas as to “drive economy, support others” and Shudras as to “serve higher classes”.On Sunday (September 6), in an email to the IIT Mandi community, the institute’s director Laxmidhar Behera said that he was “shocked” to learn about the poster displayed during Janmashtami celebrations on September 4.In his email titled “outright condemnation of recent poster display within campus”, Behera said that the poster had not been endorsed by the institute “in any manner”.“I have personally fought against caste-based discrimination in any form in every forum. I have instituted an enquiry committee in this matter such that the institute campus is never used for any such violation of social harmony. I fully empathise with members of our community who have been hurt by this incident,” wrote Behera.Notably, the PTI report added that Behera himself has a longstanding association with the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).At present he teaches a three-credit Gita course at IIT Mandi and is the founder of the proposed Bhaktivedanta University, which describes itself as an ISKCON initiative.“Some students have interpreted the Gita in some way. I have instituted an enquiry committee. It was a student-based event,” Behera told PTI.He added that a committee comprising faculty members and representatives from different social categories, including Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), has been constituted to look into the matter.Shortly after his appointment to the post of IIT Mandi director in January 2022, Behera himself had landed in controversy after a video surfaced online where 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”In the five-minute video clip, Behera recalls an incident from 1993 where he travelled to Chennai to help a friend whose “family was affected by ghosts”. He then goes on to say that he wanted to help his friend to “demonstrate the potency of the holy name” as he had started “practising the thoughts and wisdom in the Bhagavad Gita” along with chanting the ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ mantra.