The controversy over the revamped logo of the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. A group of faculty members and stakeholders are up in arms against the management of the institute after the Board of Governors, last month, gave its go-ahead for the revamped logo that has bolder but reduced carvings in the logo.

Earlier this week, a group of faculty members of IIMA held a protest sit-in at the iconic Louis Kahn Plaza of the institute demanding a rethink over the logo redesign and held ‘Meditation for Wisdom’ seeking a rethink over the logo decision by the Board of Governors.

On Wednesday, an IIMA alumnus, Talam Rao started a petition drive stating that “The IIMA Logo that existed for so many years and has become a part of the psyche of all those who studied or served at IIMA, has been changed without due respect for the sentiments of thousands of alumni that have certificates and mementos and many other things associated with the institute. This is an appeal to the Institute’s Board of Governors to continue using the old logo and not substitute it with the new logo.”

‘No say in decisions’

However, at the time of launching the redesigned logo of the institute on November 3, Errol D’Souza, director of IIMA, stated, “We have refreshed the logo, we have taken forward its legacy, we have kept it very strongly in the tradition and we using it as a way to represent the identity of the institute in an increasingly international world.”

It was explained during the launch that the Board of Governors had approved the revamped logo, which has retained the tree of life which indicated the institute’s legacy, the Sanskrit inscription indicating the leadership, and the name of the institute as its identity. “We have retained all three aspects and made the logo simple, bold and global,” D’Souza said.

Notably, earlier this year, the logo redesign had faced strong objections from a section of alumni and faculty members of the institute, thereby prompting the Board to keep the decision in abeyance.

However, this time, D’Souza informed that the consultations were held and the feedback was taken. “All feedback was considered and the institute in line with its growth plans decided to go ahead with the redesign,” D’Souza had told businessline on campus at the time of the launch of the redesigned logo.