A video reportedly filmed during an induction programme at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur has triggered a debate on social media after a faculty member stopped a student dance performance midway. The video shows two students performing on the popular Bollywood song ‘Chikni Chameli’ when a faculty member intervenes and asks whether they had taken prior permission for the performance. The music is then stopped as the students pause on stage. The faculty member can be heard questioning the nature of the performance and asking whether it was intended as entertainment.

The brief clip, however, does not reveal what happened before the dance began or what followed after the confrontation. The incident has led to sharply divided reactions online. Some social media users supported the faculty member, arguing that performances at formal academic programmes should maintain a certain level of decorum. Others defended the students and questioned why the song or choreography was considered inappropriate for an induction event. Several users also questioned whether the organisers had approved the performance beforehand. Since the circulating video begins during the performance and ends shortly after the faculty member's intervention, the complete context remains unclear.

The controversy has consequently shifted the discussion beyond the song itself, with users debating student freedom, institutional discipline and the role of entertainment during college programmes. It remains unclear whether the faculty member's objection was specifically to the song, the choreography, the lack of prior approval, or a combination of these factors. The full circumstances surrounding the incident have not been independently established from the short video alone. The video continues to circulate online, with the incident becoming another example of the debate over how colleges should balance student expression with the formal nature of academic events.