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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Legal Weapon

The death of Sahil Wakode at IIT Bombay is undoubtedly a tragic incident. It also raises a difficult question that should not be lost amid the understandable anger on campus: when does a genuine allegation of caste discrimination become a criminal charge, and what happens when the extraordinary force of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is invoked before the facts have been established? Wakode, a second-year student, died by suicide last week, hours after he was caught using a mobile...

Legal Weapon

The death of Sahil Wakode at IIT Bombay is undoubtedly a tragic incident. It also raises a difficult question that should not be lost amid the understandable anger on campus: when does a genuine allegation of caste discrimination become a criminal charge, and what happens when the extraordinary force of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is invoked before the facts have been established? Wakode, a second-year student, died by suicide last week, hours after he was caught using a mobile phone during an examination. IIT Bombay says he had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT, but that no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against him. He was counselled and assured that the incident would not damage his academic career. His parents have subsequently alleged that Wakode had been subjected to caste-based harassment for several months and named Professor Suryanarayana Doolla in an FIR alleging abetment to suicide, along with provisions of the SC/ST Act. The institute has denied that any complaint of caste discrimination was made by Wakode during his tenure. Its SC/ST cell has also said it received no such complaint. The investigation has now been transferred to the Crime Branch. The SC/ST Act exists because caste oppression is real, and victims require a law capable of confronting it. But precisely because the law is stringent, its invocation cannot become a substitute for evidence. The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised that the statutory ingredients of an offence must actually be made out. The court has also held that where a complaint does not prima facie disclose an offence under the Act, its stringent restrictions on pre-arrest bail do not automatically apply. Teachers must be able to enforce examination rules without fearing that every disciplinary confrontation could acquire a caste dimension. The tendency to turn a student’s caste into the explanation for every institutional conflict involving an SC/ST student is disturbing and must be resisted. If every disciplinary action involving a reserved-category student is presumed to be caste discrimination, the distinction between discrimination and ordinary institutional accountability begins to disappear. Equally, an institute cannot hide behind procedure if evidence eventually establishes discrimination or harassment. If Professor Doolla did indeed use casteist language, threatened Wakode or treated him differently because of his caste, those allegations must be investigated fully and dealt with under the law. But the answer cannot be to criminalise the invigilator first and investigate later. IIT Bombay now has two obligations: establish, without prejudice, what happened in those crucial hours and examine the broader pressures facing its students. The police must establish whether the allegations under the SC/ST Act have factual and legal substance. The institute must ensure that teachers can enforce academic integrity while students have credible avenues to report genuine discrimination. The tragedy demands accountability. It does not demand a predetermined culprit.

From Body to Bliss: Essential Yogic Principles to Know

Writer: Shraddha Deshpande
Shraddha Deshpande
Sep 13, 2025
3 min read

Not mere exercise, yoga is much more than posture – it is the art of aligning the body with the soul.

Yoga is not just a fitness routine or a set of postures. It is a complete science of living – connecting body, breath, mind, intellect, and spirit. Rooted in the wisdom of the Vedas and codified by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, yoga offers practical tools for harmony in daily life. To practise yoga meaningfully, it is vital to understand its core foundations. Let’s explore five key concepts that shape the yogic path: Koshas, Prana & Nadis, Elements, Chakras, and the Gunas.


Five Sheaths (Pancha Kosha)

Human existence is described in the Taittiriya Upanishad as five layers, or koshas.

Annamaya (Physical): Nourished by food, made of the five elements. Balanced with asana, kriya, and pranayama.

Pranamaya (Energy): Governs life force and connects body with mind through breath.

Manomaya (Mental): Seat of emotions and thoughts. Balance here brings emotional stability.

Vijnanamaya (Wisdom): Intellect and higher knowledge. Sharpened by study, reflection, and meditation.

Anandamaya (Bliss): Pure joy, closest to the Self. Experienced in deep meditation.

Yoga is essentially a journey from the physical to the blissful sheath.


Prana and Nadis

Prana is the vital life force. It flows through subtle channels called nadis. Of the 72,000 nadis, three are central:

Ida (moon): Cooling, linked to the mind.

Pingala (sun): Heating, linked to action.

Sushumna: The central pathway, balancing both and leading to spiritual awakening.


Breath practices purify these nadis, allowing prana to flow freely. Modern science mirrors this wisdom—alternate nostril breathing, for instance, is shown to calm the nervous system and balance both hemispheres of the brain.


Five Elements (Pancha Mahabhutas)

The body and the universe are made of the same five elements – “Pindi te Brahmandi” (the microcosm reflects the macrocosm).

Earth (Prithvi): Bones, muscles – grounding.

Water (Jal): Blood, fluids – flow and flexibility.

Fire (Agni): Digestion, energy transformation.

Air (Vayu): Breath, circulation – movement.

Space (Akasha): Sound, communication – vastness.


Balancing these through yoga brings health, stability, and cosmic harmony.


Chakras (Shat Chakra)

Seven energy centres line the spine, each with a seed sound (bija mantra) and unique qualities:

Muladhara (Root): Stability. Lam.

Swadhisthana (Sacral): Creativity. Vam.

Manipura (Solar Plexus): Willpower. Ram.

Anahata (Heart): Love. Yam.

Vishuddhi (Throat): Expression. Ham.

Ajna (Third Eye): Intuition. Om.

Sahasrara (Crown): Higher consciousness. Silence/Om.


Kundalini energy, coiled at the root like a serpent, rises upward through these chakras, awakening higher states of awareness. Each chakra not only supports spiritual growth but also reflects emotional health and personal expression.


Three Gunas

All of nature is guided by three qualities:

Sattva: Purity, clarity, wisdom.

Rajas: Energy, drive, restlessness.

Tamas: Inertia, ignorance, heaviness.


Through yoga, sattva is cultivated, leading to balance, calmness, and clarity. Even food and lifestyle choices affect the gunas—fresh, light meals increase sattva, while overstimulation or lethargy fuels rajas and tamas.


Yoga is far more than physical exercise. It is the art of aligning the microcosm within with the macrocosm outside. By understanding its core concepts – the koshas, prana, elements, chakras, and gunas – yoga becomes a tool for inner transformation. When practised with awareness, yoga not only changes how the body feels – it reshapes how life itself is experienced, helping practitioners live with greater balance, resilience, and joy.

(The writer is a yoga educator and researcher based in Pune.)

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