NAlso a statement signed by Mehta, who resigned earlier this week, Ashok University today reported on his “deep regret” for the resignation of colleague Arvind Subramanian.
“We believe that there have been some errors in institutional processes, which we will try to correct with the cooperation of all parties,” wrote the private institution, which specializes in liberal arts and sciences, which was created in 2014 in the state of Haryana Was. .
It is recalled that Mehta had already stepped down as vice-chancellor of the same university in 2019, apparently for similar reasons.
But the response of the Indian academic institute was not enough to quell the controversy over the resignation of a well-known critic of Modi, who also lodged student protests.
This week, Mehta said in a resignation letter published by the local newspaper Indian Express that his articles “defended policies aimed at expanding constitutional values towards freedom and at the same level of respect for all citizens as a risk.” cracked up to be”.
Professor Subramanian also said in his resignation that “Ashoka, who also has a personal status, cannot give room for academic expression and freedom”.
“It is disturbing,” the professor wrote.
The departure of the two teachers led to several protests with Ashoka’s academic community.
The university’s student newspaper, The Edict, may continue to protest in the days ahead.
“Student body, on March 19 [sexta-feira], Called for a boycott of all classrooms next Monday and Tuesday, demanding, among other measures, “unconditional apology for both teachers,” the newspaper says.
More than 150 academics from prestigious centers such as American Harvard or British Oxford also defused the pressure put by Mehta, which led to an open letter, titled “A Dangerous Attack on Academic Freedom”.
“We reject Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s resignation under political pressure from Ashoka University. The six articles, targeted by this prominent critic of the Indian government and defender of academic freedom, were the target of attacks,” he lamented.
The controversy comes less than a month after Freedom House, a US-based independent organization, considered Indian democracy “partially independent”, when a previous review of the institution classified India’s political system as “free”. did.
Freedom House said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government “continued to attack critics this year” and called the Muslim minority a “scapegoat” in the context of the new Coronavirus epidemic.
Last week, the Swedish institute V-Dame at the University of Gothenburg described this Asian country as “electoral autocracy” in its analysis of “democratic decline”.
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