New Delhi: The Kasargod-based Central University of Kerala issued a circular on 30 August, directing faculty members to “abstain from giving any type of provoking lectures statements that are anti-national and will be used against the interest of the nation”.
The notice, of which ThePrint has a copy, further stated, “Strict disciplinary action will be taken against those who indulge in such activities in future.”
The circular comes in the backdrop of the temporary suspension of assistant professor Gilbert Sebastian on 17 May, for allegedly raising questions on whether the RSS-BJP was a proto-fascist organisation.
The order for Sebastian’s suspension was withdrawn by Vice-Chancellor H. Venkateshwarlu on 10 June, after the professor submitted a letter expressing regret that his views in class were “misconstrued by others and brought unnecessary and unfavourable attention to the university”. ThePrint has a copy of his letter.
ThePrint reached the VC over phone for a comment on the circular, but was told by him to talk to Dr R. Pilankatta, registrar-in-charge, Central University of Kerala, and member secretary of the university’s executive council, on the matter.
Talking about the 30 August circular, Dr Pilankatta told ThePrint, “Since all our classes are now online, teachers will have to be aware and careful about the statements they make. Examples and anecdotes made in classrooms should not hurt the sentiments of any students or the national security of the country. We issued the notice to be fair to all students and professors so that classrooms are more comfortable spaces.”
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‘RSS-BJP a proto-fascist organisation?’
On 19 April, while teaching a class of first semester MA students, Sebastian had allegedly posed a question on India under the current Narendra Modi government and also asked whether the RSS-BJP was a proto-fascist organisation.
A point in one of the slides used during the class, accessed by ThePrint, was “India under Narendra Modi (2014-19)”. The text in the next slide read: “The RSS and its affiliate organisations, together known as the Sangh Parivar, meaning the Sangh family (BJP) in India can also be considered proto-fascist.”
In the same class, Sebastian had also allegedly criticised the Union government’s decision to export Covid-19 vaccines, without first meeting the needs of the country. India had started exporting Covid shots abroad, both as grants as well as commercial shipments, from 20 January onwards under an initiative labelled ‘Vaccine Maitri’. However, as India started facing a vaccine shortage domestically, Vaccine Maitri came to a halt in April.
Sources in the university told The Print that the head of the International Relations Department of the university made a complaint against Sebastian after one of the students present in the class complained to the professor about the content of Sebastian’s lecture.
A three-member enquiry committee was set up and Sebastian was suspended after the committee’s report concluded that he had “exceeded his brief in the class and violated the service rule which prohibits criticising the government”. Sources ThePrint spoke to mentioned, however, that the report by the enquiry committee on the assistant professor’s lecture did not find it anti-national nor did it use the term in its report.
Sebastian was reinstated after he submitted a letter of “regret” over the incident.
The assistant professor submitted a “non-admission regret”, claiming “my views have been misconstrued by others and brought unnecessary, unfavourable attention to the university”. In the letter dated 5 August, of which ThePrint has a copy, the professor also requested the vice-chancellor of the university “to expunge incorrect statements and the unfounded allegations against him in minutes of the 51st EC meeting”.
The executive council of the university, in its 51st meeting on 24 June, had decided to issue an order asking professors to refrain from making any provocative statements during lectures.
The minutes of the meeting, accessed by ThePrint, stated: “After detailed deliberations, the members agreed and authorised the Honorable VC to issue a circular in the university that in future, faculty or employee should abstain from giving such provoking lectures, statements that will, in turn, affect the interest of the nation.”
The circular warning the faculty against making “provoking”, “anti-national” statements during lectures came over two months after the EC meeting, on 30 August.
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Students, professors unhappy with order
ThePrint reached several professors of the university over the phone, but most of them declined to comment on the circular, citing a university regulation that forbade them from speaking to the media about this.
One of the professors, however, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ThePrint, “The ambiguity of the term ‘anti-national’ makes teaching in a classroom difficult with this new order coming in. What may seem like a normal statement or example to me, maybe misconstrued as offensive or anti-national by others. This puts teachers in a difficult situation. We will be second-guessing every single word we speak.”
The professor further said, “Most theories are taught by giving examples from real-life situations. If the GDP has dropped in India, does it mean a professor can not state the facts in the classroom? This affects not just social sciences classes but also science courses. If a professor rightly states scientific facts that may not agree with the government’s ‘propaganda’, they again risk facing action from the university. How do we teach if this (situation is) like this?”
The professor’s concerns were shared by Davis Titus, president of the Kerala chapter of the National Students’ Union of India (the student wing of the Indian National Congress), who feared this may impact the quality of teaching.
“This order is authoritarian in nature and imparts the propaganda of the ruling party. The message that the university is trying to give here is clear — that if you speak against the government, you are speaking against the nation,” said Titus.
He added: “A university is where we learn to look at theories through different perspectives. Any healthy classroom discussion will have parallels drawn from the country that the students are living in. How will learning happen if we can’t even talk about current issues during lectures?”
Playing down such concerns, however, Dr Pilankatta told ThePrint, “Everyone has the freedom to have their opinions and express them freely on public platforms. But these are classrooms where only subject matter related to the curriculum needs to be discussed.”
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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