From Protests And Suspensions to Noam Chomsky: The Decline of South Asian University
Jayati Ghosh | 19 August 2024 | The Indian Express
The latest controversy in the South Asian University, over an interview with a philosopher mentioned in a student’s research proposal that resulted in severe backlash and eventual resignation of an eminent foreign professor, would appear to be ludicrous if it were not so tragic. It culminates several years of decline in a university that began with much loftier ideals.
The University was formally established in Delhi in 2010 as a project of SAARC, to initiate and advance towards the twin goals of regional integration and academic excellence. Fourteen years later, mired in controversies and exhibiting the worst forms of attempted control over basic academic freedom, it has come to exemplify the failure of both under the current Indian ruling dispensation…