Criminalisation of Student Activism and the Idea of Academic Freedom in India

India has seen an alarming rise in the imprisonment of students and young academics, as well as restrictions on academic activities that are critical of the ruling powers. Instances of everyday violence on university campuses are largely left unpunished and foster an environment of fear. Students from historically oppressed castes as well as minority religious backgrounds face systemic discrimination and exclusion from higher education, with women from these groups being hit the hardest. These developments are concurrent with a cultivation of anti-intellectual discourses in academic spaces in India. The webinar will highlight the vital role of student activism in university spaces in India.

Speakers:

• ​Professor Apoorvanand, Hindi Department, University of Delhi
• Nabiya Khan, a poet and an activist
• Hadif Nisar, student activist, and President of the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association, University of Hyderabad

Moderated by: Aman Abhishek, Doctoral Student, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Register on Zoom to join the webinar: shorturl.at/uTWY3

This event is part of the “Academic Freedom in India Monthly Webinar Series,” organized by International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India (InSAF-India); Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis (ASCA), University of Amsterdam; University College London; the Southern Illinois University Honors Program; and Scholars at Risk.