IIMA faculty writes against new logo, says it doesn't 'cognize' its heritage

Nearly four dozen faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) have shot off a letter to the institute's board of governors, raising objections over change of official logo. Stating that "the new logo does not cognize IIMA heritage, core purpose and core objective," the faculties have said that by not "informing or involving" them in the process, the institute has violated "existing practices which were built on the premise of faculty governance."

"The Logo is our identity – the jaali and the Sanskrit verse define us and our Indian ethos. For us, it (sic) a symbol of our Indianness, our connect with “vidya”, our link to the Institute. It is our commitment to vikas of the country, industry, society, students and management discipline. It is our philosophy and mission statement. Any change in the same, either in artistic rendition or change in verse, is an assault on our identity," the letter addressed to chairman, board of governors, reads.

The existing IIMA logos, adopted back in 1961 when it was established, has the motif of "Tree of Life" inspired from the carved stone latticework windows or jaali in the iconic 16the century Siddi Saiyed Mosque in old Ahmedabad and a verse in Sanskrit, Vidya viniyogad vikasa, meaning "development through the distribution or application of knowledge" inscribed on it.

According to the faculty's letter, IIMA has come up with two sets of new logos-one that has retained the Sanskrit motto and in another one it hasn't. "We have been told that one is for international consumption (without Sanskrit inscription) and the other for domestic purpose. The purpose of this decision defies logic. We are keen to learn of the processes followed by the board to arrive at this conclusion," the letter states.

According to sources, who have seen the new logos, "The jaali has been retained but its intricacies have gone from the logo. Only those who know about the jaali would be able to identify them. The institute has tried to make it bolder and more contemporary and in that process, the subtlety of the logos have gone as they have more of a corporate look now."

According to the letter, faculty members were told about the changes in the logo on March 4 during the academic council meeting. By then, changes in the logos, which were presented before the faculty members, had already been "adopted and registered."

The faculties have pointed out several grievances in their letter. Some of them state, "1.The change of logo will have far-reaching implications and long-term consequences on the institute’s brand and its stakeholders. 2. As this was a branding exercise, it should always be preceded by a visioning exercise done in consultation with the stakeholders, which did not happen in this case. 3. As per our legacy of faculty governance the same should have been brought to the notice of the faculty before it was tabled for the Board decision. 4. The Board should have done due-diligence to check if inputs of various stakeholders such as the faculty, the alumni, the students and the staff have been sought and taken into account before the proposal was tabled for the board to take a decision."

A response from the IIMA is awaited, while the institute's director Errol D'souza didn't respond to calls.

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