New Delhi: A professor at the University of Delhi has raised serious concerns about institutional autonomy and academic freedom after his request for leave to attend an international academic event was denied under what he describes as unprecedented circumstances requiring ministerial vetting of proposed paper.

The incident also serves to underscore Delhi university’s inconsistent and ad hoc approach towards the participation of faculty members in scholarly interactions of the kind leading universities around the world normally are keen to encourage.

In a detailed letter addressed to vice chancellor Yogesh Singh, Professor Apoorvanand has alleged that university officials not only asked him to submit the text of his proposed talk for approval before granting permission to attend an academic seminar at the The New School in New York but also told him that the education ministry would need to vet its contents.

The irony is that Apoorvanand was to speak at a seminar on the subject ‘The university under a global authoritarian turn’, and Delhi university’s response appears to be a textbook illustration of that theme.

“To demand from a faculty member the text of his proposed talk amounts to censorship,” wrote Apoorvanand in his letter to the VC, highlighting that such a requirement violates foundational principles of academic freedom.

Also read: Academic Censorship Has Become the Norm in Indian Universities

According to the letter, he had applied for leave more than 35 days in advance through the university’s Samarth portal for a 9-day trip scheduled between April 23 and May 2, 2025. In subsequent conversations with the registrar on April 1, Apoorvanand was informed that his application would be sent to the Union education ministry for advice or clearance – a procedure the registrar allegedly admitted was without precedent during his tenure. 

“I told him that in my knowledge there was no such rule which required advice or permission from the government before granting leave to a faculty member to attend an event organised by an academic institution abroad. He agreed that he himself was not aware of a rule like this,” Apoorvanand detailed in his letter to the VC.

The professor expressed particular concern when the registrar suggested he share the text of his proposed talk with the university administration so that this could be passed on to government bureaucrats. “I fail to understand what made the university decide to forgo the principle of institutional autonomy and invite the intervention of an outside agency,” Apoorvanand wrote.

Hours after this conversation, he received an automated response from the university’s portal indicating his leave application had been rejected. When he requested clarification, his emails reportedly went unanswered.

On April 4, he received a hand-delivered communication dated April 2 from the assistant registrar, officially requesting the submission of his talk text “for approval so that my leave application could be processed”. On April 17, he received a similar email: “You are requested to please submit a draft speech for Seminar/ talks on your topic, immediately  to process the application for further necessary action.”

Apoorvanand told The Wire that he had applied for duty leave on the advice of his department, a category of leave the administration likes to reserve for faculty members representing the university. But when he asked the relevant officials whether he should apply under any other category of leave, he received no response.

The Wire has learnt that in the absence of a clear-cut policy for participation in academic conferences, DU faculty members have sometimes applied for casual leave, special casual leave, duty leave or even earned leave – with the final category carrying with it the highest chances of the leave application being approved. This is quite different from top tier universities worldwide where participation in an academic event is treated as part of a faculty member’s work.

University officials have not yet officially responded to Apoorvanand’s allegations and DU’s registrar has chosen not to reply to questions sent to him by The Wire. However, a ‘senior DU official’ was quoted by The Indian Express on Thursday as saying that the decision to seek advice from the ministry was taken in “light of the international context”.

The professor expressed alarm about what he characterises as a developing pattern in university governance. “We have seen sadly that in the last few years diktats from the ministry and the UGC are implemented in the university with great zeal. It has created a culture in which we start handing over our powers to those agencies which have no role in the affairs of the university,” he wrote.

He emphasised that the university’s international reputation has been built on nurturing intellectual freedom. “The University of Delhi became great because it has nursed free minds and allowed them to be part of an international community of scholarship,” he stated.

Educational policy experts note that this incident comes amid wider debates about academic liberty in Indian higher education institutions. Several universities have faced criticism in recent years for allegedly limiting professors’ freedom to engage with international academic communities, particularly on politically sensitive topics.

The case raises significant questions about approval procedures for faculty travel and whether new oversight mechanisms are being quietly implemented at one of India’s premier universities. Of particular concern is the potential precedent this could set for requiring pre-approval of academic content before professors are permitted to participate in international scholarly exchanges.

As the scheduled dates for the New York events approach, it remains unclear whether Professor Apoorvanand will receive approval to attend or if this case will escalate into a broader debate about institutional independence in Indian higher education.