IIT Mandi Faces Backlash as Researchers Challenge Conference on Astrology, Reincarnation
Ruchika Kumari | 12 June 2026 | Careers360
A group of scientists, researchers and educators have launched an open letter criticising the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi over a recent conference that featured discussions on reincarnation, astrology and afterlife communication. The signatories have highlighted this and urged the Ministry of Education to remove IIT Mandi director Prof. Lakshmidhar Behera, alleging that the institute is promoting ideas that lack scientific evidence.
The controversy follows earlier criticism of IIT Mandi's Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications (IKSMHA) Centre. In 2024, the institute drew attention for making a course on consciousness and wellbeing compulsory for first-year BTech students. The course included topics such as reincarnation, near-death experiences and out-of-body experiences. More recently, IIT Mandi's Mind, Brain and Consciousness Conference 2026 faced scrutiny. Attendance was mandatory for several groups of students and some sessions covered reincarnation, afterlife communication and jyotisha, or astrology…