On April 18, 2024, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) suspended PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan in apparent retaliation for his activism criticizing the government’s education policies.
In addition to being a PhD student in TISS’s department of development studies, Sivanandan, a member of the Dalit community from Kerala state, is a Central Executive Committee member of the leftwing Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the joint secretary of the SFI’s Maharashtra state committee. He was also previously the general secretary of the Progressive Students’ Form (PSF), a TISS students’ collective.
A six-member disciplinary committee that included TISS pro-vice chancellor and proctor charged Sivanandan with “serious violation of [the] discipline code made for students” because of “repetitive misconduct” and “anti-national activities.” The committee pointed to several actions by Sivanandan. Foremost among these was his participation in a March 7, 2023 protest organized by the United Students of India to express opposition to the government’s National Education Policy. TISS accused Sivanandan of misrepresenting it by participating under the banner of PSF-TISS. The administration argued that PSF is not an officially recognized student group and that using the banner was misleading. In addition, TISS accused Sivanandan of screening the banned BBC documentary The Modi Question (see reports), of organizing a memorial lecture named after Bhagat Singh, an activist and government critic who advocated for human rights in India., and of encouraging other students to watch Ram Ke Naam, a controversial 1992 documentary that the Indian government has described as “propaganda.”
TISS’s student union expressed support for Sivanandan and argued that the decision to suspend him was not made transparently and that the union was not informed of the disciplinary process. In addition, on May 4, Sivanandan appealed his suspension to the Bombay High Court, arguing that TISS did not allow to participate in a hearing or to follow any procedures to defend himself. At the time of writing, it did not appear that the High Court had made a decision.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the suspension of a student for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly – conduct which is expressly protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party. University authorities have an obligation to refrain from retaliatory actions intended to punish, restrict, or chill the exercise of free expression and should employ transparent, fair processes when engaging in disciplinary actions. Such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240426114608193
https://thewire.in/rights/tiss-dalit-phd-scholar-suspended-bjp
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/suspended-by-tiss-phd-student-moves-hc-seeks-revocation-of-order-9322723