Censorship – Academia

After previously targeting both teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as individual students, the administration at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)  has now turned its focus toward student groups. The latest target is the Progressive Students Forum (PSF), which the institute officially “banned” with immediate effect through a one-page notice issued on Monday (August 19).

In the letter, signed by the institute’s registrar, Anil Sutar, the institute claimed that the students’ forum is “illegally” operating on campus. “This group has been engaging in activities that obstruct the institute’s function, defame the institute, demean members of our community, and create division among students and faculty.” The institute’s administration also accused the PSF of “misleading, distracting, and misguiding students from their academic pursuits and harmonious life on campus.”

PSF is a loosely formed, left-leaning student organisation. It has been active on campus for many years, focusing largely on raising student issues and questioning the institute on multiple occasions for towing the government’s line.

TISS, an old social sciences institute, recently lost its autonomy and is now directly governed by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Losing autonomy has also cost the students their right to raise issues with the administration on campus.