Who is Vikas Divyakirti, UPSC educator in a soup after remarks on Goddess Sita?

Vikas Divyakirti, the founder of Delhi-based UPSC coaching center Drishti IAS, is facing backlash after a clip of him allegedly making derogatory remarks about Goddess Sita went viral on social media.

The video, shared on Twitter by RSS
leader Sadhvi Prachi, shows “Divyakirti comparing Maa Sita with ghee licked by a
dog.” In a coaching classroom, Divyakirti was teaching Ramayana, when he is
heard supposedly quoting a Sanskrit author, saying, “I (Ram) did
not fight this war for you (Sita) but for the respect of my lineage. As ghee
licked by a dog is not fit for eating, you Sita, are not fit for me.”

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Watch
the video here:

The clip soon went
viral, with many demanding strict action against the educator while many others
demanded a complete boycott of his coaching classes.

Who is Dr Vikas Divykirti?

Vikas Divyakirti
was born on December 26, 1979, in Bhiwani, Haryana, and was raised in Faridabad.
His father was a professor, his mother a schoolteacher. He has elder two
brothers.

He did his
schooling at Saraswati Shishu Mandir and holds a bachelor’s degree in History
from Zakir Hussain College of Delhi University. He completed his masters in
Hindi and Sociology. Divyakirti also holds an M.Phil degree, a Ph.D., and a
degree in filmmaking.

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In 1996, he
appeared for the UPSC exam and cleared all three stages on his first attempt,
securing a rank of 384. He was allotted to the Ministry of Home Affairs, but he
soon resigned. He changed his optional papers according to his interest, and
appeared for the exam again, but ended up failing all three of his remaining attempts.

After teaching
students for a few years during his UPSC preparation, in November 1999, he
established a UPSC coaching institution, Drishti IAS, in Mukherjee Nagar,
Delhi. He has since expanded his institute to other parts of India as well.

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After Civil Service
Aptitude Test (CSAT) was introduced by UPSC in 2011, Hindi and other local
language students faced problems due to the test being in English. Divyakirti
fought for the students, pointing out the biased nature of the test, and suggesting measures to
the commission to maintain equality for Hindi-speaking students.

Divyakirti is married Dr Taruna Verma. He has a son named Satwik Divyakirti.