It’s been one year now that the two faculty members are under suspension for questioning the undemocratic, insensitive and whimsical manner in which the South Asian University (SAU), Delhi, administration treated the peaceful student protest inside the university campus. The students at the university has demanded immediate revocation of the arbitrary suspensions.

Groundxero | July 17, 2024

The Progressive Students Group (PSG) at the South Asian University (SAU), Delhi, has demanded immediate revocation of the arbitrary suspensions of two faculty members — Snehashish Bhattacharya (Faculty of Economics) and Irfanullah Farooqi (Faculty of Social Sciences) by the administration.

It’s been one year now that the two faculty members are under suspension for questioning the undemocratic, insensitive and whimsical manner in which the SAU administration treated the peaceful student protest inside the university campus. Instead of submitting to the dictates of the administration and apologising for their conduct, the duo have stood by their political-ideological position and are fighting a legal battle against the university which had accused them of “instigating” the students to protest against the university administration.

On June 16, 2023, the South Asian University (SAU), Delhi, had suspended four faculty members on “allegations of misconduct” and violation of the code of conduct of the University, “which need to be investigated.” The four faculty members — Snehashish Bhattacharya (Faculty of Economics), Irfanullah Farooqi (Faculty of Social Sciences), Srinivas Burra (Faculty of Legal Studies) and Ravi Kumar (Faculty of Social Sciences) — had been singled out and accused of “instigating” the students to protest against the university administration.

Our earlier report concluded at a time when the four suspended faculty members were considering moving the Delhi High court, which they did. On January 28, 2024, a single bench of the Delhi High Court hearing the matter ordered that it doesn’t have jurisdiction over South Asian University (SAU) in service matters, since the latter happens to be a SAARC-run institution. However, a different bench of the same HC, in the case of the expelled students, had set aside the university’s expulsion order, describing it as “sham,” “pre-determined” and “flagrant violation of the most elementary principles of natural justice and fair play.” Meanwhile, Dr. Farooqi’s tenure application was arbitrarily rejected, and he was terminated from service. The three others happened to be tenured.

In February 2024, the administration met the suspended faculty members for the first time, and said that their suspensions can be withdrawn if they issue a written apology/regret letter and withdraw the court case. However, the administration made it clear that Dr. Farooqi will not be reinstated. Two of the suspended faculty members agreed to these conditions, and were reinstated. Dr. Snehashish Bhattacharya refused to tender an apology/regret letter. So did Farooqi. They filed an appeal in the division bench of the Delhi High Court against the judgement of the single bench. The petition is likely to come up for hearing later this month. For Dr. Bhattacharya and Farooqi, one cannot issue an apology for actions rightfully undertaken. Neither can one break the solidarity and unity within the academic community forged through righteous struggles.

While hundreds of students and alumni of South Asian University have provided their unequivocal support to Dr. Bhattacharya and Farooqi, their suspension raises certain serious questions. On the one hand, the administration’s decisions to call police inside campus to break students’ protest and initiate unilateral disciplinary actions on the students and faculty members corroborate with the global trends to transform universities into dissentless spaces. The university administrators are extremely critical to any solidarity developing inside the campus between the faculties, students and staff — the main stakeholders. On the other hand, the series of events in SAU in the past year also testify to the overall culture of mendicancy prevalent amongst the majority of the professoriate, which, often compliments, within the new style university campuses — often privatised — the administration’s apathy to labour/faculty/student unions. Of course, there are certain glorious exceptions. Yet, the time has come for the university faculty to recognize that in this age of shrinking democratic culture and academic freedom, mere academic radicalism will not suffice. One needs to take one’s analyses beyond the four walls of the classrooms, one needs to think of the actual struggles and how universities and the academic communities are implicated within them.

A Timeline of events at SAU:

Sep-Dec 2022: Students at South Asian University protest downward revision in stipends and demands student representatives in committees on gender sensitization and sexual harassment.

University administration called police against peaceful student protestors, and arbitrarily expels/suspends without following due process. Students start a hunger strike. A rusticated student collapses and suffers cardiac arrest.

12-15 faculty members write to administration against calling police inside campus to counter peaceful student protest, and against arbitrary action of the administration that violates SAU regulations and are against the principle of natural justice. They offer to help the administration find amicable solutions.  

Student protests force the administration to reinstate the stipend amount and withdraw some of the arbitrary actions. Protest ends as the SAU campus is shifted from Akbar Bhawan to Maidan Garhi.

Jan-June 2023: Three students expelled for earlier protests. Four Faculty members, including Dr. Snehashish Bhattacharya (Faculty of Economics) and Irfanullah Farooqi (Faculty of Social Sciences), were selectively targeted, show-caused and eventually suspended with effect from 16 June 2023.

The expelled students and the faculty members separately approached the Delhi High court.

July-Dec 2023: SAU issues chargesheets against the suspended faculty members listing 50-60 frivolous charges against each.

More than 500 academics from around the world have come forward to condemn the suspension of four faculty at the South Asian University (SAU). In an appeal to the foreign ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and to its Secretary-General, the academics have urged the ministers to “intervene in this regard and call upon the SAU administration to immediately revoke the unfair and arbitrary suspension orders and establish a congenial academic environment in the university.”

Teachers/Students organisations, hundreds of SAU alumni and current student, Lok Sabha/ Rajya Sabha MPs write in support of the suspended faculty and expelled students.

Jan-June 2024: Irfanullah Farooqi’s tenure application arbitrarily not considered and his contract terminated.