Recently, South Asian University (SAU) terminated the employment of Dr Snehashish Bhattacharya, a tenured faculty member in the Department of Economics. This action by the SAU administration strikes at the core of the question of academic freedom – a value that the university has claimed to espouse since its inception.SAU was a project by SAARC nation-states that aimed at creating a space for intellectual and cultural exchange, not affected by the national agendas of the member states. In order to understand the importance of a university space like SAU in the region, we need to look at the historical, cultural and political specificities that exist in South Asia.South Asia is a region fraught with conflict, yet rich in cultural traditions, consisting of people with differing political, social and economic backgrounds. These social tensions brought on by colonialism, along with the haphazardly drawn colonial borders, have inflicted a sense of distrust between South Asian nation-states. This is reflected in the academic discourse and discussions that happen in SAU, both inside and outside classrooms. For instance, during a discussion regarding the introduction of a Department of History at SAU, no consensus could be reached on what would constitute South Asian history, as each state may bring its own rigid nationalistic lens into the curriculum. Under the prevailing conditions, to ensure an atmosphere of academic freedom within the university, the work of researchers, academics and students had to be secured from the interventions of the different SAARC nation-states – especially that of the host state, India.The global intelligentsia is dominated by a Western imperialist ideology, fostered through the robust academic spaces set in the Global North. To counter this, there was the need to develop a South Asian discourse. It is in this light that we must view the Agreement for Establishment of South Asian University, which states that it is, “Desirous of establishing an institution that will advance a sense of South Asian community by bringing together the future generations of South Asians in a common pursuit of quality education and prepare them for the challenges of the time”, “Realizing the need to provide a forum where our academicians, scholars, researchers and gifted students can work together in the service of human advancement.”A university located in the Global South can only realise these objectives if education is heavily subsidised through scholarships, ensuring that students from oppressed socio-economic backgrounds of all nationalities are able to attend. SAU could only maintain a truly diverse composition of students because of generously endowed scholarships. The establishment of SAU coincided with that of multiple private universities cropping up in every nook and corner of India. While private universities run on a profit-oriented model, SAU – in an attempt to sustain its international character – furthered the idea of public education across borders. Therefore, the administration’s actions against students who were protesting for the continuation of adequate scholarships was against the foundational vision of the university. It was imperative on the part of conscientious professors, then, to stand up to the draconian acts of administration.The disciplinary actions against Bhattacharya and his colleagues hinge on a series of emails sent to the university administration during the student protests of November 2022. The first email, signed by 13 faculty members, raised questions about the entry of the police in the campus in order to disperse a peaceful protest by students, while the university premises are supposed to be inviolable and protected by diplomatic immunity. The second letter, signed by 15 faculty members, was sent after five students were arbitrarily expelled, rusticated or suspended, pointing out that due process was not followed. The third letter was signed by faculty members of the Department of Economics with regard to the suspension of Sudeepto Das. He was a foreign national whose student visa could have been withdrawn in the wake of his suspension.The disciplinary proceedings against Bhattacharya were conducted in a sporadic manner over a period of two years in the aftermath of his suspension. Later, he was terminated from service retroactively, with effect from the date of his suspension, effectively leaving him without the service record of those two years and salary for the corresponding period. His termination and the resulting consequences are supposed to serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who dares to question the administration.The university has come down heavily on students and faculty even if a sliver of dissent is registered. The iron-fisted actions of the administration have led to complete breakdown of the systems of care, empathy and solidarity within the university, let alone critical academic engagement. The issues that plague the university are symptoms of a larger crisis that is affecting public education in the country and around the world. The space for critical thinking has wilted away, with the erosion of academic freedom and increasing self-censorship amongst scholars and academics. While Bhattacharya continues to fight his termination in the Delhi high court, the administration has drawn the curtains on the very idea of South Asian University.Snigdha Jayakrishnan, Apoorva Yarabahally and Sapphira Beth Diengdoh are alumni of South Asian University.