Mumbai: Sanobar Keshwar—a practicing lawyer, activist and Left-leaning professor at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)—says she enjoyed her nearly eight years at the Mumbai institute because it was a melting pot of all ideologies and backgrounds.
She recalls an incident from many years ago when she asked her students to write about the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). One student argued for UCC, and although Sanobar disagreed with the views, she gave the essay a good grade for its clarity of thought.
Cut to today when both students and faculty say the institute is just a shadow of its former self because of curbs on academic freedom, a crackdown on dissent and a general erosion of its autonomy.
A faculty member, who wished to not be named, said that, earlier, protests, dissent and discussions were a part of the institute. “Nowadays, you don’t see that. There is a general fear and a larger political reality, too, that people don’t want to question as much as they could be targeted,” the faculty member said.
The institution—once the city’s socio-intellectual hub—has, over the years, been worn down by a host of issues, such as the exclusion of underprivileged students because of a hike in hostel and mess fees and constant clashes between students and the administration over political activities on campus.
The latest flashpoint was a TISS decision last month to ban the Progressive Students’ Forum (PSF), a Left-wing student group, and the inclusion of a controversial clause in the Honour Code that made students pledge they wouldn’t participate in any political activities, “anti-establishment” demonstrations and “unpatriotic discussions”.
TISS banned the PSF saying it was obstructing the institute’s functioning and defaming it. Any attempt by the PSF to organise or participate in unauthorised events will be met with “immediate intervention and consequences”, it added.
“The imposition of such rules goes against the very idea of critical thinking and evaluation of society that a premier social science institute like the TISS must foster,” PSF said in a statement.
The administration eventually relented, rolling back the ban and scrapping the controversial clauses.
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Multiple controversies
In the past year especially, the institute has been embroiled in multiple controversies—from a row over scrapping an instalment fee payment facility for SC-ST students, to the two-year suspension of a Dalit PhD student for joining a protest against the government and appealing to people to watch the documentary Ram Ke Naam.
Students say the environment on campus does not encourage political debate and discussion anymore. According to one, the institution is becoming “more right-leaning”.
“This is done deliberately. We can see a lot of right-ideology people visiting the campus. They hold meetings with the administration. The administration makes decisions and retracts them because of the fear of a backlash. But it is happening regularly,” the scholar said.
Former students also feel the campus has changed.
“It is ridiculous what is happening right now. It is not about making it right-wing or something, but making a joke out of such a prestigious institute,” said Kapil Agarwal, a former LLM student from 2019-20.
Management at TISS, however, maintains that at the institute, every student and staff member, irrespective of their background, has a voice in the decision-making process.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a senior member of TISS management said, “In a time when societal divisions and caste-class distinctions are at their peak, TISS remains steadfast in upholding its values of cultural diversity and inclusion. TISS always has and continues to ensure due compliance by the respective authorities with the reservation orders and other benefits and support measures admissible to SC/ST/OBC/PWD/Minorities.”
A rich history
Established in 1936 as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work, the institute was renamed TISS in 1944. It focused on social work until 1964 when the University Grants Commission Act (UGC) recognised it as a deemed-to-be university.
For many years, TISS was a small organisation backed by Tata Trusts with a focus on social work, but over the years it has expanded and set up campuses in Tuljapur, Guwahati, and Hyderabad.
TISS—no longer under the management of Tata Trusts since 2023—is now renowned for its policy research that includes extensive fieldwork.
It has nearly 4,000 students on its rolls across all campuses that offer PhD, post-graduate and undergraduate programmes in various fields such as humanities, media studies, skill development studies, law, rights and constitutional governance and rural development.
Over the years, it has enrolled numerous students from varied backgrounds, especially the marginalised communities, who have gone on to chart successful career paths for themselves.
And it has built a reputation for being a space that encourages debates, discussions and seminars.
Not only does it encourage learning, but the faculty and students are also invited to conduct studies for Mumbai’s municipal corporation BMC and the state government.
Last year, TISS, along with Praja Foundation, analyzed how the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) distributes its budget, whether densely populated, underprivileged wards receive the necessary funding and attention.
The institute was also appointed by the BMC to draft a policy for the rehabilitation of fishermen during coastal road work.
Earlier, in 2022, the state government had appointed TISS to study the Muslim community in detail to document their socio-economic status.
According to the management, TISS’s rank improved to 58 in 2024 in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), an improvement of 40 points.
Critical thinking
Former faculty and students remember TISS as a thriving space that encouraged critical thinking.
Sanobar, who taught at TISS between 2009 and 2016, said teachers from different ideologies and backgrounds were encouraged to teach at TISS.
“Our dean then told me that I want the students to be exposed to all kinds of thinking and then let them choose what they feel is right. And that is the attitude the management and faculty need to take. Discussion should be allowed,” she said.
TISS also prided itself for providing shelter to students from remote areas, underprivileged backgrounds, and troubled regions, such as the northeast and Jammu & Kashmir.
Former student Agarwal says critical thinking was encouraged and questions were allowed.
“Earlier every type of geography, socio-economic background was found on campus, which sadly is no longer the case. The crowd is becoming homogenous. We would learn more outside the classroom, on campus because of its diversity and activities, and student participation,” he said.
Campuses all over the world are hubs of protest and TISS was no different.
In 2016, a large number of students, staff and faculty from TISS participated in a strike by campuses across the nation in response to Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula’s death by suicide.
Sanobar recalls joining a protest in 2010-11 when the Jaitapur nuclear project was proposed in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
A few of her students—who went to the field and documented their findings—felt so passionately that they protested against the project at their convocation in 2011, when the then environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, was present.
“Wearing black sarees, black kurtas, with protest placards, and badges, they greeted the minister by raising slogans. Such was the atmosphere that this was encouraged and allowed,” she said. “This is the essence of academia. People engage in issues of importance in the country.”
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Changing character
However, the nature of the institute is changing as enrolments of students from marginalised communities have gone down. The students allege that this change coincided with the advent of the Narendra Modi government.
Post 2016-17, one of the biggest standoffs between students and management occurred when students demonstrated on all campuses against the withdrawal of fee waivers for hostel and dining hall facilities.
The management had cancelled the waiver on the hostel and dining hall fees amounting to Rs 62,000 a year for students from marginalised communities in 2017. This would mean that students from marginalised sections would have to pay exorbitant fees.
The institute had released a statement saying, “In fact, it is TISS, which has been financially impacted, laden with dues of over Rs 20 crore since 2012-13, on account of exemption given to SC/ST students for tuition fees, hostel and dining hall charges under the Government of India’s Post Matric (PMC) scholarship.”
But the protests were so massive that eventually, the institute had to roll back the move.
A committee looming into the issue recommended that the old model of scholarship—in other words, the fee waiver on hostel and dining halls for weaker students—needed to be reinstated. The panel has also supported subsidised hostel charges for SC, ST and non-creamy layer OBC students eligible for the PMS in incoming batches.
“This changed the nature of TISS. A lot of students from marginalised sections stopped coming,” said a PhD student at TISS who was enrolled for an MPhil degree at the institute in 2016-17.
According to this student, despite the recommendation to revert to the old model, the fund flow was affected and not many students from marginalised backgrounds could get scholarships. This affected the pool of students.
“The character changed, profile changed. They started filling up positions, giving way for people of their ideology. Slowly but surely, the crowd on campus changed,” the scholar said.
Though its nature was changing, protests to stop authorities from cutting the Aarey forest’s trees to make way for a metro bus shed took TISS back to its original form.
“I think that was the point when the anger that was building up and emotions that were bottled, found their way out. Then students started freely expressing,” said Agarwal, who was arrested for joining the Aarey protest.
“And when CAA-NRC protests happened, it was a full-fledged expression. The administration had to back us because the student movement was so strong. The student community was at its finest point of expression,” he added.
The management, though, disagrees. It says the students have various facilities on the campus and can approach the management anytime for an open or transparent dialogue.
“It is imperative to obey the rules set by the the institute and cooperate with institute faculty to maintain discipline. Regarding specific instances, the institute has recognised General Student Body, which is a statutory student body that formed after participatory and democratic process,” the management person quoted above said. “Recently, certain unofficial groups have emerged, claiming to represent student interests. However, when these groups exhibit polarised inclinations, it becomes the institute’s responsibility to promote fairness and unbiased milieu. TISS is dedicated to fostering a campus environment where every student’s voice is heard, and no group or individual is subject to undue influence or discrimination,” he added.
Supressing dissent—from fringes to centrestage
Another former LLM student Meemansa Singh said suppression of people’s voices always existed but it was on the fringe a few years ago.
She recalled how she had problems with her guide, who she didn’t want to identify, over her dissertation on menstrual and labour rights in Beed. Her guide called her dissertation title “too Marxist”. She eventually got her guide changed.
“But what we used to call fringe, has now taken centre stage. And there is also removal of staff who were supportive of students and their activities,” she added.
In a sign of growing intolerance, TISS suspended a 30-year-old student, Ramadas Prini Sivanandan, doing a PhD in Development Studies, for two years in March for allegedly indulging in activities that were “not in the interest of the nation” and participating in a protest in Delhi under the PSF-TISS banner.
“They allowed a march for the Ram Mandir on campus but when the student decided to screen the documentary Ram Ke Naam, he was suspended,” a student said.
Last month, nearly a dozen residential PhD students were caught by surprise after authorities served them eviction notices, asking them to vacate their accommodation within 24 hours.
They accused the students of, among other things, overstaying their contract with the hostel, and failing to pay the fees for several facilities they had used.
Students and faculty say the institute is curbing academic freedom.
Students also alleged that the Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies is not functional because the staff there has been terminated.
“Academic freedom is being controlled, programmes and modules within programmes are dropped without due process. The administrative committee also often exercises power over which course would be continued, which won’t. Especially topics like feminism and queer studies are being dropped,” said a current faculty member to ThePrint.
She added there was no engagement or dialogue with the administration, which goes against the ethos and culture of the institution.
Students say fear among them is growing.
“They don’t question anymore. And so now people are also looking only at their careers and not really engaging in debates and conversations,” a student said.
This report has been updated to include TISS’s response.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
Prof. Sanobar is lying. TISS never encouraged teachers across ideologies to be a part of the institute. TISS was reserved only for those who affiliated with some form of Communist ideology. The ideological debates were not between adherents of different ideologies but between adherents of different shades of the same ideology, i.e., Communism.
For example, there would be vigorous debates on Maoism vs Leninism, Stalin vs Trotsky, etc.
A substantial number of Socialists, inspired by JP and Lohia, were there too.
But there was zero representation from the other end of the political spectrum. One could never find a free market champion, a capitalist, a right-wing ideologue or even a social/political conservative on campus.
It was an institution by the Left, of the Left and for the Left. And everyone had to fall in line. No academic freedom was granted back in my times too. If you did not subscribe to some form of Marxism, you were bullied and harassed mercilessly by the professors.
My own thesis proposal (on the effect of globalisation on the traditional handloom industry with a particular reference to Bengal) was rejected. Why? Because it was too pro-capitalist and pro-free market.
My years at the institute were miserable as I consistently had to yield to the frivolous demands of the faculty who would brook no dissent. Even in case of individual political choices and preferences, I was forced to align with the hegemonic Leftist narrative on campus. Otherwise, I would not have graduated with a PhD.
Others who did not yield were cornered into a situation where they had no choice but to leave the institution without finishing their degree.
A social work institution has to be politicised. Otherwise it can’t stand with the underprivileged and vulnerable groups and against the exploitative agencies.
I agree with the author about the watered down version of TISS of the 80s and 90s. But I don’t agree about the reasons for the same. Conflicts between TISS administration and students have always been there. But that was exactly what a social work institution should do. Encourage freedom of thought and expression and challenge authorities’ whose policies were against the common people, especially the marginalised sections. However, TISS saw an exponential increase in courses and some did not converge well with social work ethos. This changed the whole atmosphere, from studying in a free environment to merely using TISS degree for career growth. The rapid expansion of TISS made it exceedingly dependable on government funds. While TISS had always worked closely with government agencies, provide excellent training to bureaucrats, actively participated in disaster and emergency situations, it’s independent way of thinking was rarely compromised. Thanks to the strong willed faculty and unshakeable social work ethics. But the change in central government’s understanding of the role of NGOs and civil society in development and social change and its strategic strangulation by bureaucratic red tape has been the root cause of the disintegration of TISS. This has led to increased conflicts with students over fees and fellowships. Faculty with mere PhDs and zero social work experience has meant just teaching and not mentoring. Now some units are not even paying 18000/month to their social workers. Since I have worked on a number of TISS projects since late 80s till 2014, I felt I should share my thoughts on this serious issue of degeneration of academic institutions, one of them being TISS
This article is a joke!
Have had friends who studied at TISS. Know the situation quite intimately.
Everything works out fine for you if you subscribe to Left-wing ideology. If you don’t, you have to deal with all kinds of harassment. The professors, fellow students and even the administration is out to crucify you.
Ms. Sanobar’s case w.r.t to the essay on the UCC illustrates the issue quite well. She did not agree with the views of the student but was “large hearted” enough to give him good grades. Such prejudice is the reason why good students no longer aspire to get into TISS. The professors are Marxists to their bones with a very prejudiced view of the world. Unless one agrees with them, they make life tough. Very few have the “large heartedness” of Ms. Sanobar to give good grades to a student who disagrees.
Education is totally politicised at TISS and the professors are always looking to indoctrinate young minds. Academics and research is of least concern to them.
This article rather seems like an attempt by these very Left wing elements to lament the loss of freedom they have had for so long. Freedom which they abused thoroughly to turn a very prestigious institute into a hub for Left-wing propaganda and indoctrination.
Room for dissent and debate at TISS Mumbai? What a joke!
Anyone who did not conform to some shade of Marxist ideology was treated as a pariah. The professors bullied and harassed even those who were staunchly apolitical. Their focus was less on research/academics and more on ideological indoctrination. If a student refused to acquisce (like myself and a few others), he was subjected to various forms of harassment by the faculty.
I speak from experience having completed MA (Development Economics) in 2015.
Stop the disinformation campaign, Ms. Purva Chitnis!
TISS was never an “intellectual hub”. It was just a safehouse for Marxists of various hues and shades to brainwash young people into joining the “movement”. With full patronage from the Congress govts of the past, the Marxists successfully turned it into a centre for radicalisation and propaganda machine.
This course correction was overdue.