IIT Kharagpur has conferred its highest honorary degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc. - Honoris Causa) to Mahamahopadhyaya Bhadreshdas Swamiji. The degree was announced in the 69th convocation ceremony. The delegation of the institute presented this award to Swamiji in a massive gathering as part of Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s birthday celebration in Surat, Gujarat. Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual head of BAPS, graced the ceremony.

With the aim of conferring this honor on Swami Bhadreshdasji, Director of IIT Kharagpur, Prof. Virendra Kumar Tewari, Dean Shri Kamal Lochan Panigrahi and Registrar Shri Biswajit Bhattacharyya had specially come to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

On this occasion, during the degree conferring ceremony, Director Prof. Tewari said, “About more than eight hundred faculty members and three hundred senate members of IIT Kharagpur had unanimously decided to select Bhadresh Swamiji among the many candidates that were elected for this title. After getting consent from the Union Education Ministry and the President's office, we have announced this.”

A revered Sanskrit scholar and an ordained monk of Bochasanwasi Akshar-Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), Mahamahopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swamiji is a distinguished global scholar, renowned for his profound insights into Hindu philosophy, beliefs, and culture. With a remarkable four-decade journey of studying Vedic literature and texts, Mahamahopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swamiji’s exceptional achievements transcend academic boundaries. Mahamahopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swami authored the “Swaminarayan Bhashyam”, a classical-style Sanskrit commentary that meticulously explores the depths of the ten Upanishads, the Bhagavad Geeta, and Brahma Sutras. Notably, he elucidates the Akshar-Purushottam Darshan philosophy, a distinctive Vedantic perspective revealed by Bhagwan Swaminarayan, a philosophy that has garnered global recognition from various luminaries and institutions.
In recognition of his remarkable contribution for decades of spiritual enlightenment and inspirational ethos to unite and nurture global harmony collectively in the spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ the Hon’ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, Visitor of the Institute, has approved the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) as recommended by the Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur at the 69th convocation of the Institute held on December 18, 2023.
On the same day, Mr. Sundararajan Pichai, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Alphabet Inc., USA; Dr. Ravinder Nath Khanna, Chairman and Managing Director, Control and Switchgear Contactors Limited, Delhi; and Mr. Ajit Jain, Vice Chairman, Insurance Operations, Berkshire Hathaway, USA, were also honored with this title.

In the past, notable individuals such as Dr. K Kasturirangan (2021), Shri Azim Premji (2014), Dr. Faqir Chand Kohli (2014), Shri Sam Pitroda (2011), Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (2010), Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (2008), Shri N. R. Narayan Murthy (2007), Mr. Ratan Tata (2004), Mr. Satyajit Ray (1978), and Dr. S. R. Sengupta (1968), have been recipients of this esteemed recognition.