A plagiarism row is brewing in Pondicherry Central University. A section of post graduate students at the Centre for South Asian Studies has complained about several articles submitted as class assignments or for external publication being published in the name of an associate professor.
In complaints sent to the University higher-ups, the Ministry of Education and UGC the students alleged that 17 of their articles submitted to Santhosh Mathew, associate professor, have appeared in various publications under his authorship without their consent.
When contacted, Mr. Mathew, categorically dismissed these allegations as false and baseless and cited his long standing as a widely-published author in mainstream publications and journals.
“The articles in question, which cover a range of international relations and geopolitical topics, have been meticulously researched and written by me over the years. I have adhered to the highest standards of academic integrity and journalistic ethics in producing these works”, he told The Hindu.
The contentious articles, according to the complainants, pertain to write-ups on freedom fighter VO Chidambaram Pillai, Katchatheevu, Henry Kissinger, the Chandraayan-3 mission, India’s balancing act of simultaneously crafting relationships with rivalling geopolitical blocs of G7 and BRICS.
Most of these articles appeared between September and December in 2023 in various newspapers and online platforms under the faculty member’s name.
Students say ever since they stumbled upon the published articles, they raised the issue of “intellectual property theft” with various authorities, including at least five times with the Vice Chancellor.
“He (faculty) promised us that he would publish it under our names while asking us to develop articles and sent them to various journals and e-media (platforms) without informing us,” Sruthylacshmi B. Bhat said in her complaint to the Vice Chancellor.
She alleged that ‘A deft balancing act’ published under the associate professor’s name in The Statesman on September 17, 2023 was a virtual reproduction of her write-up, ‘Indian Diplomacy and the Counterpoising Powers: BRICS vs. G7’, which she had submitted to him for review.
Suraj Palavalsa, PG student, claimed his write-up on challenging times for United Nations submitted to the faculty on September 18, was published with Mr. Mathew as author in the Organiser (September 24, 2023) titled ‘United Nations: Time for Restructuring’.
Another article on Kissinger, which he had rigorously reworked from background material provided by the teacher, and submitted in September, appeared in December ‘A man synonymous with diplomacy’ under authorship of the latter in The Statesman.
Another student, Deyasree Dey has also raised similar complaints.
The students alleged that authorities tried to pressure them into retracting the complaint. Neither has the professor given an official apology letter nor has he written to the publishers informing them about the intellectual theft, they said.
“The authorities seem to think that if they buy time till we complete our fourth semester and move out, that will be the end of this”, a student said.
Mr. Mathew, however, said that “a thorough investigation will confirm the originality and integrity of my work. I am open to any further scrutiny or inquiries that may be necessary to address these baseless allegations”.
Meanwhile, a petition to the grievance cell of the PMO was forwarded for necessary action to the Deputy Registrar (Academic), Pondicherry University. There was no response from the official to a mail query from The Hindu regarding the status of the complaint.
