Mumbai: On October 4, an assistant professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad campus, participated in a student protest. The professor, Arjun Sengupta, expressed his solidarity with student leader and PhD scholar Ramadas Prini Sivanandan, who had been suspended by the TISS administration.
A part of Sengupta’s speech was widely circulated on social media, resulting in a show cause notice being served to him within days.
On October 4, students associated with the Progressive Students Organisation (PSO) and the Ambedkar Students’ Association organised a public meeting at the institute’s off-campus location in Hyderabad.
Sengupta spoke about importance of unity among students and staff
While students gathered in large numbers, Sengupta also attended. The meeting focused on several issues and concerns regarding the current academic functioning at TISS, including the educational implications of the deep employment uncertainty faced by 119 teaching and non-teaching staff whose positions are funded by the Tata Education Trust (TET).
Sengupta, who is also employed under the TET, spoke about the importance of unity among the students, teaching staff, and non-teaching employees of the institute during the gathering.
In June of this year, the institute had abruptly decided to terminate the employment of 119 teaching and non-teaching staff. As the decision gained media attention, the administration withdrew the termination letters. However, the 119 employees remain uncertain about their employment status post-December.
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In recent years, TISS has become increasingly intolerant of students or teachers participating in public gatherings that it considers critical of the administration or the BJP-led government.
In April, Sivanandan, who belongs to a Dalit community from Kerala, was suspended by the institute for participating in a protest against the National Education Policy (NEP) organised at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. He is currently fighting his suspension order in court.
‘Speech contemptuous of court proceedings’
The show cause notice issued to Sengupta emphasises that Sivanandan’s case is pending in court and is therefore “sub judice.” The memo served to Sengupta describes his solidarity speech as contemptuous of court proceedings. In the notice, the institute also claims that the PSO is “not a recognized student body” of TISS and has a “history of publishing false statements.”
The TISS administration has been cracking down on any form of student unionising or the formation of informal groups. While students forming organisations based on their political leanings is not a new phenomenon across Indian campuses, such penalisation for coming together is.
Sengupta, a faculty member at the School of Gender and Livelihoods, responded to the memorandum served to him on October 8. In his response, accessed by The Wire, Sengupta states, “Contrary to what is implied in the said Memorandum, there is no prohibition on speaking about the PSF. Such prohibitory orders were retracted by the Officiating Registrar in an Office Order (TISS/Reg/OO/2024) dated August 19, 2024.”
Sengupta, who was invited to discuss the uncertain future of the institute’s 119 employees, including himself, writes in his response to the college administration, “My talk on October 4, 2024, addressed ongoing academic concerns at a publicly funded institution of higher learning and is therefore protected by Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. Furthermore, it is clear from even a cursory viewing of the video that the restrictions listed in Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution do not apply in this case.”
Students will lack guidance of contracts of teaching staff are not extended
This situation raises concerns not only about employment but also about the future of students studying under these teachers. If the contracts of the teaching staff are not extended, students will lack guidance for their MA dissertations and PhD theses – a concern that has been repeatedly raised with the TISS administration.
In his response to the show cause notice, Sengupta has characterised the institute’s process as “factually unfounded, unconstitutional, and illegal.” The administration alleges that Sengupta was “inciting students,” a claim that he has vehemently opposed in his response.
“Contrary to what is alleged in the said Memorandum, and as is evident from even a cursory viewing of the video, it is grossly untrue that I was ‘sloganeering’ or ‘inciting’ anyone during my talk,” Sengupta wrote in his response to the show cause notice.
