Political Intolerance and Declining Academic Freedom in India
Zoya Hasan | 19 March 2025 | The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy
Academic freedom is a central issue of concern in contemporary India. It has been one of the focal points of public debates on higher education. Rising government interference, incremental political pressure, and a string of ideological curbs on teaching and research, have had a direct bearing on the functioning of universities and academic institutions. A direct fallout has been an erosion of critical inquiry associated with a vibrant education system.
Academic freedom is the freedom of inquiry, the freedom to teach, to determine who may teach and what may be taught, to research, and to disseminate and publish such findings without interference or censorship from external entities, including the state. This would include the right to dissent and the freedom to deliberate and express opinion – individual and collective…