From America to India: Academic freedom is misunderstood
Satish Deshpande | 14 December 2023 | The Indian Express
An unintended side-effect of the war unleashed by the Israeli state in Palestine is the revelation of the limits of the idea of academic freedom in its own birthplace, the modern West. The credibility of this idea is in tatters today as protests against the war in American universities provoke threats from donors, alumni and administrators; and as European governments pass laws to defund and punish any academic or artistic activities that question the state of Israel. Of course, the authorities in India that is Bharat have stood shoulder to shoulder with their Western counterparts, pre-empting protests, banning film shows, cancelling talks and demanding apologies from speakers who dare to present any views other than those of the Israeli state.
But despite the global attention it is now receiving, academic freedom remains a much misunderstood idea. Each of its two words misleads in its own way. “Academic” suggests something obscure and impractical, far removed from the everyday world. “Freedom” implies the ability to act exactly as one pleases