IIT Mandi faces backlash as researchers challenge conference on astrology, reincarnation

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.

The open letter, titled "Reject Pseudo-science of Reincarnation and Astrology", relates to the "Mind, Brain, and Consciousness" conference organised by IIT Mandi's Indian Knowledge System and Mental Health Applications Centre between June 3 and 6. This campaign comes days after the institute faced criticism over reports that attendance at the conference was mandatory.

The letter highlights that the conference programme had multiple sessions that advanced what the signatories described as pseudoscientific claims. The researchers alleged that several speakers were associated with religious organisations and lacked credentials in scientific research to back the topics being discussed.

The criticism focuses particularly on a special session titled "Reincarnation, OBEs and Afterlife Communication". The open letter argues that the session was centred on concepts such as reincarnation, out-of-body experiences, afterlife communication and astrology, all of which lack empirical support.

The researchers have also pointed to the involvement of Prof. Behera and IIT Kanpur faculty member Prof. Kunal Mooley in the session. According to the letter, the session was chaired by the IIT Mandi director and an astronomy faculty member from IIT Kanpur, raising concerns among signatories about the endorsement of such topics by faculty members from premier institutions.

Open letter calls out 'pseudoscientific' claims

Open letter questions scientific basis

In the letter, the signatories state that there is no accepted scientific evidence supporting claims related to reincarnation, afterlife communication or out-of-body experiences.

"The scientific community is near unanimous that there is no proven case till date of any out-of-body experience, afterlife communication or reincarnation," the letter states. It further argues that controlled studies examining such claims have failed to establish evidence for information transfer beyond the human body. The researchers also rejected astrology, describing it as lacking scientific validity. According to the letter, studies conducted in India and abroad have repeatedly failed to demonstrate that astrologers can make predictions with accuracy beyond chance.

The letter additionally refers to previous controversies involving Prof. Behera. It claims that he had drawn criticism in earlier years for statements associated with spiritual and metaphysical concepts. The signatories allege that despite earlier objections from sections of the academic community, he continued in his role as director.

Beyond criticism of the conference itself, the researchers have issued several demands. They have sought clarification from IIT Kanpur regarding the participation of one of its faculty members in the special session and called on colleagues, collaborators and former students of the academics involved to publicly distance themselves from the project.

Funding agency

The signatories have also raised concerns about funding. The letter notes that the conference received support from the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). It mentions that public funding should not be used for activities that lack a scientific basis.

"We demand that ANRF stop funding such pseudo-scientific ventures," the letter states.

The most significant demand, however, is directed at the Ministry of Education."The Ministry of Education, if it is not supportive of these unscientific claims, must remove Prof Behera as Director of IIT Mandi and put in a more rational person to save the careers of the students of IIT Mandi," the letter says.

The latest controversy follows reports published earlier this month regarding attendance requirements at the conference. Students had alleged that first-year BTech students and several groups of undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral scholars were asked to attend the event. Some students also claimed that biometric systems were installed to monitor participation.