SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Learn more.

Date of Incident: January 26, 2013

Attack Types: Prosecution

Institution(s):Center for the Study of Developing Societies

Region & Country:Southern Asia | India

New or Ongoing:New Incident

Professor Ashis Nandy, a prominent Indian sociologist, was named in multiple arrest warrants issued under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, following comments he made at the Jaipur Literary Festival in Jaipur, India. According to reports, on January 26th Professor Nandy made comments during a panel discussion that were viewed by some as being derogatory to the historically disadvantaged groups of the Indian caste system. Professor Nandy has stated that his comments were taken out of context. On February 1st, the Supreme Court issued a stay on Professor Nandy’s arrest while proceedings are pending, following his filing of a petition seeking protection from arrest. According to media reports, the court urged Professor Nandy to exercise greater caution in his remarks going forward.
Sources:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/02/the-nandy-affair-in-india.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-21289120  
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-01/india/36683326_1_ashis-nandy-anti-dalit-st-act
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/a-conversation-with-sociologist-ashis-nandy/?pagewanted=print
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/indias-limited-freedom-of-speech.html