FOR: Academic freedom in India is not just in danger, it’s in a state of siege
Supriya Chaudhuri, Professor Emerita, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
Shortly before Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s widely publicised resignation from Ashoka University made academic freedom the subject of national debate, another event received less attention. This was the refusal of Errol D’Souza, director of IIM Ahmedabad, to allow the Ministry of Education (MoE) to review a PhD thesis approved by his institute.
A Rajya Sabha MP had objected to the thesis’s description of the BJP. The MoE demanded a copy of the thesis last year, but D’Souza replied that a thesis passed by a duly-constituted academic board could not be judged by the ministry. The incident was flagged by the MoE to claim greater say in the governance of IIMs; the Law ministry dismissed the claim as inconsistent with the provisions of the IIM Act.
Supriya Chaudhuri (FOR)
Shortly before Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s widely publicised resignation from Ashoka University made academic freedom the subject of national debate, another event received less attention. This was the refusal of Errol D’Souza, director of IIM Ahmedabad, to allow the Ministry of Education (MoE) to review a PhD thesis approved by his institute.
A Rajya Sabha MP had objected to the thesis’s description of the BJP. The MoE demanded a copy of the thesis last year, but D’Souza replied that a thesis passed by a duly-constituted academic board could not be judged by the ministry. The incident was flagged by the MoE to claim greater say in the governance of IIMs; the Law ministry dismissed the claim as inconsistent with the provisions of the IIM Act.