Global scholars write to JNU V-C

400 academicians express concern over recent events unfolding at university

Over 400 academicians from universities including Harvard, Cambridge, London School of Economics, Yale and New York University have written to Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar voicing concerns over recent events unfolding at the university.

“Under serious threat”

The scholars from across the globe have signed an open letter to Prof. Kumar saying the “academic culture and context that has formed the basis of cooperation with international institutions is under serious threat”.

“We are deeply concerned and shocked at the events unfolding on your campus and we urge the responsible authorities to act decisively to protect the future of JNU as an internationally-renowned university of academic excellence, which has produced generations of excellent researchers, scholars and other professionals,” the letter said.

The letter said it was “shocking” that the university, known for its academic freedom and autonomy that fosters debate, discussion and dissent, was now being “wilfully destroyed”.

At loggerheads

JNU has been in the limelight for over an year after its students were arrested in a sedition case last February. Since then, the Students’ Union and Teachers’ Association have been at loggerheads with the administration over denial of permission to protest on campus, disappearance of a student after a brawl, deduction of salaries of teachers’ raising voices and show-cause notices to them, and the latest confrontation on amendments in the admission policy leading to massive seat cuts in MPhil and PhD courses.

“We also feel that such an attack on public education in universities like JNU disables opportunities for historically marginalised communities of India. It is essential that an enabling admission policy, like the one in place in JNU must be retained, other than abiding by the constitutionally mandated policies for affirmative action,” the letter said.

“Now, however, the academic culture and context that has formed the very basis of our cooperation with JNU is under serious threat. We request you to restore the institutional autonomy and provide assurance to the international community that JNU will maintain its commitment to an academic and intellectual, vision of a university that champions academic freedoms, teaching and research, keeping social and gender justice, and civil liberties intact,” it added.

Admission policy issue

In another development, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, along with a group of JNU students, met President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday over the issue of recent amendments to the university’s admission policy.

The students submitted a memorandum to the President, who is also the Visitor of the university.

“UGC notification on admission rules for PhD and MPhil programme has been imposed on the JNU community in the most undemocratic manner, systematically violating all norms of Academic Council (AC) and other decision-making bodies,” the memorandum said.