Academics on Tuesday spoke out against the alleged high-handed attitude of varsity administrations aimed at throttling democracy on campuses, a day after several students of Ambedkar University boycotted classes over the suspension of student leaders.

At a media conference on Tuesday, economist Jayati Ghosh of the University of Massachusetts Amherst said: “This is part of a much broader attack on higher education in India…. One of the most important ways it begins, when they are determined to destroy the university, is to provide a culture of impunity to the administration to do as they are told — presumably by someone higher up, to
avoid any possible democracy within the campus, and to create an atmosphere of fear
and intolerance of any kind of opposition.”

Ambedkar University has seen protests by the SFI-led Students Council this month after the varsity suspended three students for allegedly revealing the identity of the victim while protesting against ragging. Later, five more students were suspended for agitating against the previous suspensions. The first three suspensions were later revoked after the students moved court.

One of the suspended students, Shubhojeet Dey, said: “If you won’t talk to the students’ body, nothing can get resolved…. What was the need for guards to beat me up, choke me, drag us on the road, tear (Students Council treasurer) Sharanya’s clothes (on April 11)? All we asked for was to meet the vice-chancellor or registrar.”

Varsity officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Apooravanand, professor of Hindi at Delhi University, accused Ambedkar University VC Anu Singh Lather of “destroying whatever the previous VC created”.

“She has an adversarial relationship with the faculty. Now courts are forced to ask VCs what they are doing to students. Both Jamia Millia Islamia and Ambedkar University have had to withdraw suspensions (in the recent past),” Apooravanand added.

Lather is the second VC of Ambedkar University, a Delhi government institution founded in 2008. She took over from Shyam Menon in 2019.

Delhi University Students’ Union president Ronak Khatri said: “The students’ power to think is being killed by keeping them stuck in routine issues like water supply and infrastructure so that they can’t talk about academic matters.”

Dhiraj Kumar Nite, secretary of the Ambedkar University Delhi Faculty Association, said teachers wanted the suspensions to end. Associate professor Kaustav Banerjee is facing disciplinary action for speaking out for the students.

Professors Abha Dev Habib from Delhi University and Pradeep Shinde from JNU also spoke in favour of the students and against the growing trend of harsh actions by varsity administrations.