Last week, on March 17, Ashoka University Professor and eminent political scientist and commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta resigned from the University. In 2019, he had stepped down as the Vice-Chancellor of the renowned University citing “academic reasons” but this time, when his resignation letter surfaced, it became abundantly clear that the reasons are far bigger. It was revealed that he resigned following a meeting with the University’s trustees where it emerged that his writings were seen as a “political liability” for the private university and its promoters.
His resignation led to a domino effect with, Dr. Arvind Subramanian resigning as Professor of the University, in response to condemnation by international academicians from ivy league universities, students boycotting classes, and then the University accepting lapses on its part. Dr. Subramanian is a former Chief Economic Adviser to the Central government who was appointed in 2014 but quit the job in 2018. Dr. Subramanian clearly implied that his resignation was an aftermath of Mehta’s exit as it “reflected poorly on the university’s ability to protect academic freedom”.
All of this has culminated into a rhetoric of curbing of academic freedom in the country, and the resignations of such eminent intellectuals is a testimony to the Centre’s control seeping into these Universities. This, effectively, poses a grave threat to one of the most essential freedoms, freedom of thought that emanates from academic freedom and candour in classrooms of such Universities teaching Humanities.
Renowned economist and former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan also responded to these developments and said free speech suffered a “grievous blow” in India following the resignations. “The reality is that professor Mehta is a thorn in the side of the establishment. He is no ordinary thorn because he skewers those in government and in high offices like the Supreme Court with vivid prose and thought-provoking arguments,” he said in his post on social networking site, LinkedIn.
“Free speech is the soul of a great University, the founders have bartered away its soul. And if you show a willingness to barter your soul, is there any chance the pressures will go away? This is indeed a sad development for India,” he added.
About Ashoka University
Ashoka University is a private liberal arts university located in Sonepat, Haryana. In January, this year, the University was awarded a Diamond rating by QS I.GAUGE, the India specific rating agency for the Quacquarelli Symonds, London. The University was awarded an overall as well as individual Diamond rating on seven parameters of higher education including Teaching & Learning, Faculty Quality, Employability, Faculty Diversity, Research and Facilities.
Who is Pratap Bhanu Mehta?
Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes opinion pieces in the Indian Express, often being critical of the Modi government and its policies. He writes for many publications including Financial Times, American Political Science Review and Journal of Democracy. He is a graduate in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University and a PhD in Politics from Princeton University. He has formerly been a Professor at Harvard University, Jawaharlal Nehru University, the Global Faculty Program at NYU Law School.
Why did he resign?
The reason for his resignation is made abundantly clear by him in his resignation letter to the University in which he states, “It is clear it is time for me to leave Ashoka. A liberal university will need a liberal political and social context to flourish. I hope the university will play a role in securing that environment. Nietzsche once said that “no living for truth is possible in a university.” I hope that prophecy does not come true. But in light of the prevailing atmosphere, the Founders and the Administration will require renewed commitment to the values of Ashoka, and new courage to secure Ashoka’s freedom”.
Students’ boycott
Students at the University are boycotting classes until March 23 (for now) and are demanding changes such as divesting of administrative powers from founders of the university to elected students, administrative, and faculty members. While the students boycotted most of the classes during the day, nearly 900 students attended a scheduled class by Pratap Bhanu Mehta and discussed Karl Marx and his celebrated work Das Kapital, reported the Hindustan Times
Students were, reportedly, found on campus wearing black to demonstrate their protest.
International response
Several reputed academicians, from esteemed ivy league universities, addressed Ashoka University in a joint letter and expressed their dismay over PB Mehta’s resignation.
“We write in solidarity with Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and to reaffirm the importance of the values that he has always practiced. In political life, these are free argument, tolerance, and a democratic spirit of equal citizenship. In the university, they are free inquiry, candour, and a rigorous distinction between the demands of intellectual honesty and the pressure of politicians, funders, or ideological animus. These values come under assault whenever a scholar is punished for the content of public speech. When that speech is in defence of precisely these values, the assault is especially shameful,” the letter states.
The signatories include Professors from Universities such as Yale, Harvard, NYU, Stanford, UCLA, Princeton, Cambridge and so on.
The University’s joint statement
Ashoka University issued a joint statement with Mehta and Dr. Subramanian admitting lapses in institutional processes. The University said it will work to rectify these to ensure academic autonomy and freedom. Chancellor Rudrangshu Mukherjee and chairman of board of trustees Ashish Dhawan also wrote separately to the students stating that the university will remain committed to academic freedom and intellectual independence”, and reassured that none of founders or trustees “have even an iota of commercial or business interest” in the university.
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