India has witnessed an increased crackdown on academicians in the higher education sector in recent years. Arbitrary removal and incarceration of teachers and scholars have become the rule of the day. Although Professor Hany Babu’s bail on December 4, 2025 brought a huge sigh of relief for the academic community and civil society, it was only a small victory in the long struggle waged by critical scholars against autocratic bodies – in this case, the Hindu state.Interestingly, neither this struggle nor the consequent cruelty of autocratic bodies is new in India. It can be traced back at least two centuries, to when higher education began to formalise in British India.December 26 marks the 194th death anniversary of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, one of the most dynamic educators in India’s history. Recruited by the Hindoo College (now Presidency University, Kolkata) in 1828 and forced to resign within three years, Derozio’s short tenure was remarkably turbulent. Despite being an irrefutably good teacher, the college management dismissed him from service, citing contradictory reasons.In remembering Derozio, one finds many parallels in how educators in India are still subjected to scrutiny and incarceration based on their pedagogic practices and identities.Derozio’s life at Hindoo CollegeDerozio was born in 1809 to Anglo-Portuguese parents. He excelled in studies and emerged as a voracious advocate of the rights of East Indians (as Anglo-Indians were popularly referred to). A celebrated poet, writer and speaker, he had established himself as a patriotic poet and civil rights activist long before joining the Hindoo College.Also read: Ashoka Prof Arrested For ‘Endangering Sovereignty’ Over Post Criticising Jingoism, Sent to Custody Till May 20Seventeen-year-old Derozio joined the college as a teacher of English literature and history. From the start, he openly disdained conventional teaching. Apart from the prescribed curriculum, Derozio encouraged the study of English and Scottish Enlightenment thinkers who emphasised the supremacy of reason, scepticism and rationalism. He also advocated academic associations outside the classroom that encouraged intellectual discussion and debate among participants and he established three such associations.According to Derozio, these forums were crucial for instilling empathy among participants and for understanding their intellectual, political and social potential. He believed that no change could be imposed from without unless people organically rejected dogmas. It was such nuanced thinking that informed his pedagogic practices and placed him under the scanner of the authorities.DisruptionsDerozio’s radical ideas and teaching methods had a profound influence on his students, referred to as “Young Bengal.” They began rebelling against dogmatic beliefs within their households. Brahmin students refused to participate in sacred thread ceremonies, while many others started eating beef, directly challenging Hindu beliefs.Changing beliefs? A woman holds a miniature idol of Lord Krishna as a child, dressed as Santa Claus. Kolkata, December 2025. Photo: Manvendra Vashisht/PTIThese acts of rebellion shook orthodox Hindu society in Calcutta, prompting the college management to take cognisance of the affair. The management published several notices prohibiting teachers from sharing dining spaces with students, from indulging in discussions on religion and from teaching books that might “injure” students’ morals. It also forbade students from attending associations where such discussions took place.Also read: Why We Protested During Mamata Banerjee’s Oxford University SpeechThe mass withdrawal and indefinite absence of around 160 students from the Hindoo College in 1831 proved to be the proverbial nail in Derozio’s coffin. The management’s subsequent modus operandi prophesied similar incidents in the future.Unfounded accusationsIn April 1831, the management cornered Derozio by accusing him of encouraging among his students: (i) disobedience to parents, (ii) incestuous relationships and (iii) atheism. Derozio refuted the first two charges with evidence. Regarding the third, he admitted to having encouraged the reading of academic works arguing both for and against atheism.Pointing to the absurdity of the charge, Derozio stated: “If I am to be condemned for the atheism of some, let me receive credit for the theism of others.”Suspicions based solely on the academic (and thus political) leanings of teachers echoed centuries later in the house raid of Professor K. Satyanarayana of the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, in 2018.The infuriated professor later recalled how the police questioned him for reading works by Karl Marx and Mao Tse-tung, possessing copies of Gaddar’s songs and displaying portraits of B.R. Ambedkar and Jotirao Phule instead of deities. Professor Satyanarayana’s only “crime” was being the son-in-law of Varavara Rao, another poet and teacher from Telangana, accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case.Both Derozio and Satyanarayana were compelled to defend not only their innocence in fabricated accusations but also the importance of reading critical works in academia.Contradictory stanceThe Hindoo College management’s actions against Derozio exposed its arbitrariness. The management repeatedly emphasised that the “public alarm” caused by Derozio was sufficient reason for his removal. This was despite the fact that the majority of the management absolved Derozio of all accusations and defended his teaching competence.In fact, an education report from 1831 observed that Hindoo College students had achieved a command of the English language and sciences surpassing that of any contemporary European school. Various reports also noted the remarkable performance of Derozio’s students in particular.Also read: These ‘Foreign Hands’ Left Their Homes to Fight For India’s FreedomA similar fate befell Dr Laxman Yadav in 2023, when his services were terminated at Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, without any reason being cited. Dr Yadav claimed that he was dismissed despite 13 years of teaching experience, consistently positive student feedback and a high Academic Performance Index (API) score.He believes that his criticism of the Union government outside the college prompted his arbitrary removal, notwithstanding his teaching merit. Much like Derozio, it was hurt majoritarian sentiment, rather than academic performance, that determined Dr Yadav’s future within the institution.Death of a professorOn April 25, 1831, Derozio tendered his resignation. In his resignation letter, he expressed deep discontent, stating that he had been unexamined and unheard throughout the entire process. He pointed out that he was not afforded even the “mockery of a trial” to defend his case. He also declared that in the entire fiasco, he was not the “greater enemy”, forcing an introspection into who truly was. Derozio succumbed to cholera in December 1831, at the young age of 22.Also read: The History of Student Protests in IndiaEven in death, Derozio’s spectre unfortunately resurfaces—albeit in a different form—in the fate of the late Dr G. N. Saibaba. A wheelchair user with 90% locomotor disability, Dr Saibaba was repeatedly imprisoned on vague allegations from 2014 onwards, before being removed from Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, in 2021. Although acquitted in 2022 due to lack of evidence, he did not survive the harsh physical conditions of prison and passed away in 2024.The omnipotence of truthToday, it is convenient to commemorate Derozio through his anti-colonial poetry for its patriotic value. This is because recalling his experiences as a teacher forces us to confront the unchanging nature of India’s ruling caste and class over the past two centuries. Derozio was an East Indian and a civil rights advocate for his community. It was this sense of justice and inclusivity that informed his pedagogic vision – one that did not sit well with the authorities.The Poona Pact of 1932 and the implementation of the Mandal Commission in 1991 enabled erstwhile disenfranchised identities to occupy positions of authority in higher education. Consequently, there is now greater scope to integrate formal knowledge with the lived experiences of educators and students and to envision a more inclusive classroom space.The grave of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio Burial in South Park Street Cemetery. Photo: Souvik Pal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsThis has significantly democratised the higher education sector, which was previously dominated by ruling castes and classes. Teachers such as Hany Babu, Satyanarayana and Saibaba are targeted because their pedagogical practices espouse social justice ideals that challenge the status quo of this very class, just as Derozio once did.As Derozio’s poem reminds us, truth is omnipotent. The Indian classroom today holds the potential to become both more accessible and more critical—a space that harbours truth. It is this democratic potential of the Indian classroom that threatens the Brahmin-Bania state, prompting it to intimidate teachers and scholars. At this critical juncture, it is imperative to recognise our “greater enemy” and to defend the Indian classroom—the very nucleus of truth—against all odds.Solanki Chakraborty is a PhD scholar at the Centre for English Language Studies, University of Hyderabad. Her work is on the history of language teaching and learning in colonial India. She is on Instagram and Facebook.