New Delhi: A group of academicians on April 6, Thursday, condemned Delhi University for its action on some students who had participated in the screening of the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India: The Modi Question.In a letter to the vice-chancellor, 59 signatories, on behalf of the India Academic Freedom Network, requested the vice-chancellor of Delhi University to revoke the punishment given to the students.They said that “the punishment given [to the students] is disproportionate to the alleged violation” by them.“We need not tell you that university is supposed to be a space where students and teachers feel free to get information from any source, decide for themselves and express themselves freely. They are adults and can take decisions for themselves. We, teachers and administrators are not here to police their thoughts or censor their sources of information., it said.“The only condition we all must follow while exercising this right is that it should not promote hatred and violence. But the documentary was only a critical examination of the present regime in the context of the situation of Muslims. How could its screening by some students become a threat to order on the campus is beyond our understanding,” it added.Two DU students were barred from the Delhi University for a year for allegedly helping in the campus screening of the BBC documentary on the 2002 Godhra riots. They won’t be allowed to take part in “any university or college or departmental examination or examinations for one year from the date of issue of the memorandum”.In the memorandum issued on March 10, the DU registrar claimed that the BBC documentary India: The Modi Question is “banned”.However, the Union government had directed YouTube and Twitter to take down links to the documentary. “The documentary was never banned and is still not banned by the government,” said the letter by the India Academic Freedom Network.Separately, the V-Dem Institute, in its 2023 update to its ‘Academic Freedom Index’, has noted that India is among 22 countries and territories out of 179 in the world, where institutions and scholars enjoy ‘significantly less freedom today than 10 years ago.’Also read: BBC, Nationalism and a Nation in DenialRead the full text and list of signatories below.§ToThe Vice Chancellor,University of DelhiDate : 6 April, 2023Sub: Request to revoke the punishment given to the students who had participated in the screening of the BBC documentary.Sir,This is to express our anguish over the news of punishment, of varying degrees, to some students of the university for having screened a documentary produced by the BBC. The memorandum regarding the punishment, as published in the media, states that they had violated the ban on screening of the said documentary by the government of India. We want to bring to your notice and it is known to all that the documentary was never banned and is still not banned by the government. So, the ground for disciplinary action does not exist.The letter says that the students should have taken permission from the authorities 24 hours prior to any demonstration. It is just possible that this condition was not met by the students. But had they done something so serious that the university should take away from them the right to appear in examinations? Had they damaged university property or caused physical violence?We need not tell you that university is supposed to be a space where students and teachers feel free to get information from any source, decide for themselves and express themselves freely. They are adults and can take decisions for themselves. We, teachers and administrators are not here to police their thoughts or censor their sources of information. The only condition we all must follow while exercising this right is that it should not promote hatred and violence. But the documentary was only a critical examination of the present regime in the context of the situation of Muslims. How could its screening by some students become a threat to order on the campus is beyond our understanding.Even if the university authorities felt that their order for prior permission was not adhered to, the punishment given is disproportionate to the alleged violation by the students. Their screening had not caused any violence or disturbance. Had the security personnel not interfered with the screening and stopped it forcefully it would have passed peacefully.We therefore feel that in light of the facts regarding the lawful status of the documentary and the right of the students to get information and have a free discussion on the campus, the university authorities should withdraw the orders penalising the students involved in the screening of the BBC documentary. It is our duty , as university community to make campus a safe space for the students to engage in critical thinking. It is needless to say that it is not the job of the university to defend the government or disallow thoughts critical to it. We hope that our concern would be heard and the said punishment order would be withdrawn.Thanking you,Sincerely YoursApoorvanand, Nandini SundarOn Behalf ofIndia Academic Freedom NetworkList of Signatories: Sl. NameAffiliation 1ApoorvanandDepartment of Hindi, University of Delhi2Satish DeshpandeDepartment of Sociology, University of Delhi3Nandini SundarDepartment of Sociology,University of Delhi4Shahana BhattacharyaKirori Mal College, University of Delhi5Bharati JagannathanMiranda House, University of Delhi6Ira RajaDepartment of English, University of Delhi7Naina DayalSt. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi8Janaki AbrahamDepartment of Sociology, University of Delhi9Anil KumarUniversity of Delhi10C SaratchandSatyawati College, University of Delhi11Renu BalaDTF12Rudrashish ChakrabortyDepartment of English, Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi13Jyoti SabharwalUniversity of Delhi14Rupali BhardwajUniversity of Delhi15Abha Dev HabibMiranda House, University of Delhi16Debjani SenguptaIP College, University of Delhi17Tanvir AeijazUniversity of Delhi18Sucharita SenJawaharlal Nehru University19Kausik BhattacharyaDepartment of Philosophy and Comparative Religion, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, W.B.20Sneha SharmaRamjas College, University of Delhi21Neeraj MalikIndraprastha college, University of Delhi22Imrana NaseemProfessor23Sudipta BhattacharyyaProfessor, Dept of Economics & Politics, Visva-Bharati.24Ambar AhmadKamala Nehru College, University of Delhi25Avinash KumarFaculty, Jawaharlal Nehru University26Mallikarjun SajjanAll India University Employees Confederation27Manas MaityProfessor, Visva-Bharati University28Mallikarjun SajjanAll India University Employees Confederation29Shikha KapurAcademic30Dr Para DholakiaUniversity of Delhi31Rahul GovindUniversity of Delhi32Sanghamitra MisraUniversity of Delhi33Bilasini NaoremMiranda House, University of Delhi34BharatiAssociate Prof (retd)35Nandita NarainSt Stephen’s College, University of Delhi36Vijaya VenkataramanUniversity of Delhi, University of Delhi37Trisha GuptaProfessor, Jindal School of Journalism and Communication38Ashwini KumarDUTA39Girwar SinghAISEC40Karen GabrielSt Stephen’s College, University of Delhi41Savithri SinghUniversity of Delhi42Dr. Uma ShankarZakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi43Khalid AshrafRetired Teacher44Rajni PalriwalaRetd. University of Delhi45Prem Kumar VijayanHindu College, University of Delhi46Dr Rachna SinghHindu College, University of Delhi47Pramod RanjanAssam University48Harbans MukhiaFormerly Jawaharlal Nehru University49Poonam KaushikPragatisheel Mahila Sangathan Delhi50Dr. S.K. ChauhanHindu College, University of Delhi51Dr. Joseph Tharamangalam, PhD.Mount St.Vincent University, Halifax, Canasa.52Sanjay Kumar MisraDepartment of English, R.B.S. College, Agra53Satyam VarmaRahul Foundation54Pramod YadavaSuperannuated Professor55Nisha BiswasFeminists in Resistance56Rohan D’SouzaKyoto University57Shamsul IslamFormer faculty University of Delhi (Satyawati College)58Walter FernandesNESRC59Ghanshyam ShahRetired Prof. Jawaharlal Nehru University
