The All India Students’ Association has strongly condemned the unconstitutional and authoritarian order issued by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, which imposes an “immediate ban” on the activities and participation of the 'Progressive Students Forum' (PSF), a student organisation, in any campus events. Labelling a student organisation as "unauthorised" or an "illegal forum" blatantly reveals the authoritarian intent of the TISS administration, which seems determined to undermine the constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right to form associations and unions. Furthermore, branding a student organisation that is critical of administrative policies as 'misleading, distracting, and misguiding' is a clear abuse of authority, aimed at suppressing freedom of speech and expression.
Recently, TISS arbitrarily suspended PSF leader and Dalit PhD scholar Ramadas Prini Sivanadan for two years for questioning the Union government and its policies and programs, appealing students to watch Ram Ke Naam—a national award winning documentary and attending a student protest! Prior to that, the TISS administration had issued arbitrary termination notices to over 100 staff members, which were only rescinded after a nationwide backlash. It appears that TISS, Mumbai, is intent on following in the footsteps of other university administrations and vice-chancellors who have been appointed and supported by the Sangh brigade to curtail constitutional rights and democratic values within campus spaces.
Earlier this month, TISS administration in its another undemocratic move abruptly ordered dozens of marginalized PhD students to vacate their hostel rooms within 24 hours, claiming they had "overstayed." However, these students, from the 2019 batch, were unable to access hostel facilities for over two years due to the pandemic. Despite their pleas about lacking immediate resources to relocate, the administration has only granted them a reprieve until September.
Today, students across the country are witnessing the transformation of public-funded and other universities into extended political instruments of the ruling BJP government. Politically motivated appointments, based on allegiance to the BJP-RSS, are eroding institutions from within, with long-term and dire consequences. The idea of a university, which inherently embodies freedom of expression through the coexistence of diverse views and plural ideas, is being bulldozed to establish the hegemony of BJP-RSS ideology within campus spaces.
AISA demands that the authoritarian ban on PSF be revoked immediately and that the TISS administration uphold democratic values by allowing student organizations to freely participate in and engage with events concerning students' interests on campus and in society. The suppression of dissent is a dangerous trend in university spaces today; therefore, we also urge the TISS students & teachers community to stand together, resist, and defeat this unconstitutional edict.
