New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP and Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam has written to the acting president of South Asian University (SAU) in Delhi, asking the institute to take down certain “archaic conditions” in a mandatory undertaking for students that makes them promise, among other things, to “not participate in any agitation or strike”.
The ‘general undertaking’ also makes the students declare that they are “not suffering from any serious/contagious ailment and/or any psychiatric/psychological disorder”.
The batch of incoming students for 2023-24 academic year were made to sign the undertaking, which ThePrint has accessed.
“I hereby declare that I will neither join in any agitation/strike for the purpose of forcing the authorities of the university to resolve any problem, nor will I participate in any activity which has a tendency to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the academic environment of the SAU campus/or its hostel premises,” reads one of the conditions in the undertaking.
In his letter written Tuesday to SAU acting president Prof R.K. Mohanty, which ThePrint has accessed as well, Viswam expressed “disgust and anguish” at the declarations in the undertaking and termed them “undemocratic and discriminatory”. He asked the university to remove them.
“The nature of the undertaking highlights the undemocratic and discriminatory functioning of the university. Protests and democratic dialogue have been instrumental in shaping the entire South Asian region. Curtailing the rights of students from participating in democratic dialogue and movements is an obstacle in realising the vision behind South Asian University which aimed to impart liberal and humane education,” Viswam wrote.
SAU was established in 2010 by eight member nations of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) — India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — to promote regional cooperation in the field of education.
On students being asked to declare that they do not suffer from any mental health issues, Viswam stated in his letter: “The declaration about psychological disorders or serious illness is highly discriminatory, inhumane and unscientific at the same time. It sheds light on the university administration’s desperateness in relinquishing its responsibilities of providing a student-friendly space for students of all backgrounds.”
He added that the “unjust treatment of students, faculty and workers of South Asian University is gaining notoriety in international spaces”.
Viswam also sent a copy of his letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar for “cognisance and necessary action”.
After ThePrint reached out to the SAU spokesperson via mail with queries on the matter, the university issued a brief statement: “Nothing in the general declaration/undertaking signed by the newly admitted students may be construed as prejudicing in any manner the SAARC intergovernmental agreement, rules, regulations & bye-laws”.
SAU, which offers postgraduate and doctoral programmes in various disciplines, is no stranger to controversy.
In November 2022, classes were halted at the university on account of student protests over a host of issues. Then in June this year, four SAU professors were suspended over allegations of misconduct. They were accused of “running a Marxist study circle and inciting student protests on campus”.
After the suspension of the professors, over 500 academics from across universities in India, the US, Australia, and the UK, among others, wrote to SAARC to “immediately revoke the unfair and arbitrary suspension orders”.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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