Tag: current affairs – India

Ashoka University: Correspondence on Professor P. B. Mehta’s Resignation (2021)

First posted March 22, 2021 NB: Appended below are documents which appeared in the public domain between March 17 and March 21. (The Joint Statement is curious for bearing the signatures of the two departing scholars, who apparently refer to themselves in the third person). The contrast between the content of the first three letters… Read More Ashoka University: Correspondence on Professor P. B. Mehta’s Resignation (2021)

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Ashoka students call for class boycott next week, demand university reinstate Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian // Over 150 international academicians come out in support of PB Mehta

NB: These are democratic and justifiable demands. The founders must relinquish direct control of the University’s academic affairs. Ashoka University is an educational institution, not a private limited company. DS    The student government at Ashoka University has called for a two-day boycott of classes starting Monday to protest the resignation of their teachers, Pratap… Read More Ashoka students call for class boycott next week, demand university reinstate Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian // Over 150 international academicians come out in support of PB Mehta

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Founders made clear I was political liability for Ashoka University: Pratap Bhanu Mehta

“My public writing in support of a politics that tries to honour constitutional values of freedom and equal respect for all citizens, is perceived to carry risks for the university… 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… Read More Founders made clear I was political liability for Ashoka University: Pratap Bhanu Mehta

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STATEMENT BY ASHOKA UNIVERSITY FACULTY – March 18, 2021

To, Professor Malabika Sarkar, Vice Chancellor  Mr. Ashish Dhawan, Chairman of Board of Trustees Ashoka University. The resignation of Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta from Ashoka University on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 is a matter of great anguish for the university faculty. It is not just an occasion for sorrow over the departure of a deeply… Read More STATEMENT BY ASHOKA UNIVERSITY FACULTY – March 18, 2021

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We Can't Treat Pratap Bhanu Mehta's Resignation from Ashoka as a 'Personal Decision'// Arvind Subramanian resigns from Ashoka University in protest

NB: Ideology is a form of silence; the enforcement of ideology is the enforcement of silence. DS   Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s resignation from the Ashoka University must not be treated as a decision taken for personal reasons. It should be a matter of public concern, even though he was teaching at a private university. We need not explain why.… Read More We Can't Treat Pratap Bhanu Mehta's Resignation from Ashoka as a 'Personal Decision'// Arvind Subramanian resigns from Ashoka University in protest

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Bharat Bhushan – Scania Scandal: Need to step up to the challenge

The Scania bribery expose threatens to knock the bottom out of the Indian claim of having improved the ease of doing business in the country. Henrik Henriksson, chief executive officer of Scania, has claimed: “We invested heavily, went in with a bang and really wanted to succeed in India, but we underestimated the risks” – suggesting that… Read More Bharat Bhushan – Scania Scandal: Need to step up to the challenge

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BJP MP moves privilege motion against TMC’s Mahua Moitra for comments against former CJI

“The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred,” Moitra had said. “It stopped being sacred the day a sitting chief justice of this country was accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself and then proceeded to accept a nomination to the Upper House of Parliament within three months… Read More BJP MP moves privilege motion against TMC’s Mahua Moitra for comments against former CJI

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Bharat Bhushan: Nervous government explores ways to 'manage' media

The leaking of the alleged Report of Group of Ministers (GoM) on Government Communications is an exceptional event for a government that prides itself in being successfully opaque. Reminiscent of McCarthyism, the report suggests “neutralising” journalists who write against the government and spread “false narratives”. An incredible proposal from an establishment journalist suggests that journalists… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Nervous government explores ways to 'manage' media

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Sabah Maharaj, Snehashish Das on Sharjeel Imam: Cultivating Morality In A Broken Democracy

Sharjeel Imam, speaking from the grim trench-lines of the anti-CAA protests, was widely seen to have crossed a line in the sand. But what line? The only answers forthcoming were in the shape of the UAPA and sedition laws. The incident proved to be a pivotal moment for India for two contrary reasons. It was… Read More Sabah Maharaj, Snehashish Das on Sharjeel Imam: Cultivating Morality In A Broken Democracy

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