New Delhi, Feb 22 A group of scholars and educators have criticised the shirtless protest by the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) at the esteemed AI Summit venue, emphasising that the disturbance at such a significant global event was not only in bad taste but also contrary to national interests.
A series of leading academicians and distinguished personalities, including vice-chancellors, professors, lecturers and other noted figures, issued a joint statement on Sunday, lamenting the unfortunate and undiscerning approach adopted by the Youth Congress to voice opposition against the AI event, which, in reality, marked a defining moment in India’s ascent in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape.
“The protest associated with Rahul Gandhi conveyed an unfortunate impression at a time when global investors and technology leaders were assessing India’s credibility as a long-term partner in AI and advanced technologies,” they said in an open letter.
They said the AI Impact Summit was India’s declaration to the world that India has emerged as a serious and sovereign technological power in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the recent protest by IYC is profoundly regrettable and ill-conceived.
“The recent protest by the Indian Youth Congress at the India AI Impact Summit is profoundly regrettable and ill-conceived. This was neither a partisan platform nor a venue for domestic political propaganda. Converting an international forum into an occasion for political demonstration reflects a serious lack of judgment and an inability to distinguish between legitimate democratic dissent and the imperative of safeguarding national prestige on a global stage,” it said.
Raising an alarm over protests 'giving strength' to voices from adversarial nations like China and Pakistan, they said that the Youth Congress protest did not adequately reflect the broader national interest during such a significant global engagement.
“At a time when adversarial countries such as China and Pakistan publicly questioned or sought to diminish the importance of the summit, any domestic political conduct that appears to reinforce those narratives invites serious scrutiny,” it added.
More than 100 educationists are signatories to the joint statement. Some of them include Vice-Chancellors of Kumaun University, Rajasthan Technical University, former VCs of Periyar University, Manipur University and scores of professors, Assistant professors and research scholars from institutions across the country.
The leading lights also underlined the depth and diversity of innovation emerging within the country and abroad, and its showcasing at a mega event in the national capital and stated that India’s progress in AI is the collective outcome of its scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, institutions, universities and policy frameworks.
And, therefore, using the event for political point-scoring should have been the last thing on their mind.
“According to the 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Index published by Stanford University, India is now ranked 3rd globally in Artificial Intelligence, behind only the US and China, reflecting substantial progress in research output, talent development and infrastructure. Notably, India is the first Global South nation to enter this top tier,” they also pointed out.
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