Early in graduate school, I had a curious dream. I had finished my dissertation, but no job was forthcoming. Taking pity on me, my department hired me to perform the functions of a janitor-cum-chambermaid. A pathetic scene followed. I found myself down on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor tiles of the humanities building,… Read More Book review: The Apocalyptic New Campus Novel
After having worked most of my life in a public university and research institute, I started teaching at Ashoka last year. So my response to the many commentaries on the ongoing debacle at this private university comes from being an outsider as well as an insider. This ‘squint-eyed perspective,’ as fellow-sociologist Satish Deshpande has described… Read More Amita Baviskar: Ashoka and After: The Universities We Believe In
NB: Democratic rights are not presented to us on a platter by managements, howsoever liberal they portray themselves to be. Professor Rajendran Narayanan’s experience is evidence of that; as well as of the truism that our access to the justice and fair-play is directly linked to our socio-economic status. That is why workers, and even… Read More Rajendran Narayanan: What I learnt about power and privilege when I quit Ashoka in 2016 / Yogendra Yadav: No one is asking the right questions about Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s ouster from Ashoka University
NB: A very thoughtful piece by Jawed Naqvi. It would be welcome if the intellectuals who once were supportive of the BJP government and who have now turned critics of this regime, could tell us what they thought of the RSS in 2013 and why. Meanwhile I believe we must rethink our understanding of ‘parties’. We have… Read More Jawed Naqvi: Thank the left for the right
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)
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
“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
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
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
A French schoolgirl has admitted to spreading false claims about a teacher before he was murdered last year. Samuel Paty was beheaded in October after showing students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The girl, whose complaints sparked an online campaign against Paty, has now admitted that she was not in the class. Mr Paty’s killing stunned France… Read More Samuel Paty: French schoolgirl admits lying about murdered teacher
