300+ Academics Urge SAARC to Intervene in SAU Professor’s Sacking: ‘Acted Without Transparency, Fairness or Evidence’
New Delhi: As many as 305 academics and researchers from universities across the world have written to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) seeking intervention in the "unjust dismissal" of a faculty member by the South Asian University (SAU), New Delhi.
In the letter, addressed to SAARC secretary-general Md Golam Sarwar, the signatories have urged the Secretary-General to call upon SAU to immediately rescind the termination of Snehashish Bhattacharya who was an associate professor of Economics at the varsity.
“...the signatories — including many renowned global academics and intellectuals — have expressed deep concern over the violation of academic freedom and due process at the University, which was established under the aegis of SAARC to promote regional cooperation through higher learning. The scholars have urged the Secretary-General to call upon SAU to immediately rescind Dr. Bhattacharya’s termination, to protect academic freedom within the institution, and to uphold the founding ideals of collegiality, dialogue, and intellectual independence that underpin the University’s mandate,” the letter read.
Bhattacharya was terminated on September 11, 2025, with retrospective effect from June 2023, penalising him for raising "principled concerns” and opposing the administration’s decision to call police to the campus to handle the peaceful student protests in 2022.
The protests had demanded representation in gender sensitisation and anti-harassment bodies, as well as a rollback of stipend cuts. The university administration had resorted to expulsions, suspensions and police action.
Faculty, including Bhattacharya, had urged dialogue and constructive engagement. Bhattacharya and three of his colleagues were allegedly singled out, suspended in June 2023, and their pay was cut to 25% without statutory basis.
Bhattacharya has consistently denied the charges levelled against him. His "conscientious refusal to submit a letter of regret was followed by his termination", the signatories stated, which the administration justified as a response to “incitement against the University”.
Bhattacharya moved Delhi high court where the SAU pleaded that the Indian courts did not have jurisdiction over it as it was an international institution.
"The University has acted without transparency, fairness, or credible evidence. It has also advanced the untenable claim that, as an international institution, it lies outside Indian court jurisdiction – even though SAU was created through The South Asian University Act, 2008 of the Indian Parliament," they said in the letter.
The signatories said that SAU, as opposed to its vision of a world class institution emerging out of a collaborative effort in South Asia, has seen “an exodus of international faculty members and repeated attempts to censor students and staff”.
“Dr Bhattacharya’s consistent good-faith actions embody the values SAU was meant to uphold. His dismissal threatens not only an individual’s career but also broader principles of academic freedom, collegiality, and the University’s role in nurturing future scholars and engaged citizens through openness, dialogue, and mutual respect,” they said.
The signatories have demanded SAARC to intervene for reinstating Bhattacharya at SAU, ensure a fair and constructive resolution, and help restore trust, protect academic freedom, and uphold the university’s credibility as a SAARC institution.
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