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What Ashoka University Can Learn From Gandhi, Tagore and Nehru's Thoughts on Academic Freedom

S.N. Sahu | 26 August 2023 | The Wire

Assistant Professor Sabyasachi Das (left); Ashoka University (right). Photo: Ashoka Universaity/Wikimedia CC-BY-SA 4.0

The latest sinister development in Ashoka University – personnel from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) entering the campus to quiz associate professor Sabyasachi Das on his research paper ‘Democratic Backsliding in India in the World’s Largest Democracy’ – constitutes an example of intimidation and flagrant violation of university autonomy. The paper argued that there may have been manipulation of the electoral process in 2019, benefitting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Confronted with sharp attacks from BJP leaders and the university’s decision to distance itself from the paper, Das resigned. Faculty members and students were outraged by Ashoka University’s stand that it “values research that is critically peer-reviewed and published in reputed journals”. “To the best of our knowledge,” the university had stated, “the paper in question has not yet completed a critical review process and has not been published in an academic journal.”

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