IIT-Mandi head faces backlash for linking ‘meat-eating’ to Himachal crisis

The director of IIT Mandi is facing backlash on social media for claiming that recent cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal were due to meat eating.

Laxmidhar Behera, director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi, and an expert in computing and robotics is facing a strong backlash on social media for a video that shows him claiming that recent cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal were the result of “meat-eating”.

Laxmidhar Behera

In the clip, which has gone viral, Behera, addressing a group of students in an auditorium says that to become a good human being, they have to avoid eating meat.

“To become good human being what you have to do?,” he asks and then answers: “No meat eating.” He further exhorts students to repeat the answer.

“Himachal Pradesh will have a significant downfall, if the innocent animals are butchered.”

Behera did not respond to phone calls or text messages seeking comment.

It isn’t known when he made the speech shown in the video.

Geologist and Dean, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), Ambrish Kumar Mahajan said that the recent disasters were result of geological reasons coupled with anthropogenic factors.

“I can’t comment on what someone has said. However, the disasters in Himachal were due to geological and anthropogenic activities,” said Mahajan.

Extreme weather, unplanned construction, and the fact that the Himalayas are still a young and active range are among the reasons cited by most experts for the recent spate of landslides in the hill state.