Statement of Support for Prof. Sameena Dalwai
India Academic Freedom Network | 6 January 2024
This is a statement of support for Prof. Sameena Dalwai from the global and national academic community. We, the undersigned writers and teachers, are deeply concerned with the ordeal that Sameena Dalwai has faced for the past several weeks. Education is key to the spirit of democracy. Autocratic regimes fear critical thinking and educators that foster it. In the series of relentless attacks on Indian universities, Prof. Sameena Dalwai is the latest. It started with an email exchange on 7 November 2023, about Palestine shared within the university faculty that was leaked to the trolls. Dalwai was targeted as being ‘Hindu-phobic’ even though her email called for tolerance of opposing ideological views within the safe space of universities.
After 10 days, a video from Prof. Dalwai’s class appeared on Twitter (X), showing the dating app, ‘Bumble’ being discussed. This was a class activity for the topic ‘Desire, sexuality and gender’ within the subject ‘Gender and Society’ that Dalwai teaches to 3rd-year law students. The dating app was used as an innovative teaching tool to practically appreciate how attraction and dating, just like marriage, follow the identity markers of caste, class, religion, skin colour, languages. This activity on 23 September was recorded by miscreants in class, without the knowledge of the professor and other students, and was shared on social media in November following the email exchange.
Haryana Women’s Commission picked up this video and decided to investigate. They visited the university, elicited student responses without university administration being present, and then held a media spectacle in which Prof. Dalwai was declared guilty. Twitter posts became evidence, emotive language replaced logic, confidential university documents were posted on social media. The whole process showed utter disregard for legal procedures and a vicious political agenda. O. P. Jindal Global University is a reputed private university in India. We are troubled to see that the university did not follow any due process to establish truth, innocence or guilt. Without any enquiry or an opportunity to defend herself, Dr. Dalwai was served a show cause notice and thereafter a warning on twin charges of ‘harming the dignity of women’ and ‘discrimination of students on religious and ideological basis’. By succumbing to political pressure thus, Jindal university has set a damning precedent for future attacks on academic freedom.
As academics across the world, we are dismayed that discussions of sexuality or politics are assumed to harm the dignity of women or discriminate against students. Experiments with learning tools and innovative pedagogy are the gold standard in a university that claims to be global. The educators’ job is to introduce students to uncomfortable truths of the world, to empower them to critically engage with the socio-political issues surrounding them, especially while teaching law students who are adults, citizens and future officers of law.
Professor Dalwai has consistently shown her commitment to social justice through her writing and teaching. She is a feminist writer who defends the rights of women across caste, class and religions. As a public intellectual writing in English and Marathi, she consistently highlights the discrimination against labouring poor, Dalits and minorities. A Women’s Commission charging her with ‘harming the dignity of women’ is an utter travesty. Sameena Dalwai comes from a mixed family of many religions and languages. To those of us who know her, she exhibits a truly global personality and deep understanding of the diversity of cultures that is India. We believe she is being persecuted for her Muslim identity and her political beliefs, by people who define India with a narrow, ignorant lens.
Ironically Haryana Women’s Commission has charged Sameena Dalwai for outraging the dignity of women, while completely ignoring the battle against sexual harassment by women wrestlers of Haryana. An FIR was filed against Prof. Dalwai on 22nd December 2023 in Sonipat- without a single student complainant.
We call upon the concerned authorities in the State of Haryana, including the Police and Judiciary, to put an end to this vicious witch hunt.