India

TISS administration bans students body, calls it 'divisive' 'illegal'

Student's bodies on campus have called it an undeclared emergency on campus.

Credit : Indie Journal

 

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), on Monday, issued an immediate ban on Progressive Students Forum (PSF), an active students organisation on TISS campuses, calling it 'unauthorised and illegal'. Moreover, the institute, in its order, said that any student or faculty member found to be associated with the group would be subject to ‘disciplinary action’. Those associated with PSF and other student organisations have called this move ‘undemocratic’ and have also pointed out the stringent regulations imposed on the students on campus, calling it an undeclared emergency on campus.

"This group has been engaging in activities that obstruct the institute's functions, defame the institute, demean members of our community, and create divisions among students and faculty. It has been observed that this group is misleading, distracting and misguiding students from their academic pursuit and harmonious life in the campus," the order signed by TISS Registrar Prof. Anil Sutar said.

PSF works closely with TISS students, raising several issues pertaining to the campus and student welfare. It was PSF that brought the issue of the mass termination of around 100 teaching and non-teaching staff members to light in the month of June and protested against the same. It was one of the student organisations on campus that protested against the appointment of the controversial Col. RM Joshi as the new registrar of TISS back in 2020.

“PSF was the first organisation to bring the mass termination to light. After us, other oranisations and citizens took it up and the termination was revoked. All PSF does is work with the students on campus, if you see the last posts on our social media handles, the latest post is about hostel fees and hostel allotments. And yet, the organisation is banned,” a student associated with PSF said on condition of anonymity.

 

 

He also pointed out that the University Grants Commission (UGC) does not give any institutes the power to ban any student organisation.

“Is the TISS administration a legislative body? What mandate do they have to ban a student organisation? A student organisation can either be recognised or unrecognised. As per the UGC rules, the institute cannot ban any organisation,” the student said.

He also said that the organisation was given no notice or warning before issuing the ban notice.

“Let’s assume for a minute that they do have the authority to ban the PSF. Even then, should they not give a notice before imposing an immediate ban? PSF was in the middle of a signature campaign, demanding job security to the TISS staff, revoking the suspension of a Dalit student in April and permission to the students to organise events and programmes on campus. We collected around 300 signatures last week and we were about to resume the campaign again on Monday. Just 10 minutes before that, they imposed the ban,” the student said.

“We are not an underground organisation. We work in the campus openly. They could have easily sent us a notice, but chose not to,” the student added.

TISS has been in the news since the start of the year for controversial reasons. TISS Administration, in April, suspended a PhD scholar, Ramdas KS, for alleged anti-national activities, like protesting and expressing dissent on a few occasions. He had openly criticised the New Education Policy (NEP). As per the statement issued by the institute at the time, they had also cited his participation in a protest outside the parliament holding a banner that said ‘PSF-TISS’.

 

 

“This is what they have been doing to people who criticise them. They are running the campus as if it is under an undeclared emergency. If they spot more than three-four students sitting together, even if they are just hanging out or doing their assignments, the security asks them to disperse. Today, they have banned PSF, tomorrow, it could be any other organisation,” the student associated with PSF said.

The shift in the winds of TISS has also been apparent from the reports of a recent speech at the institute by pro-Hindutva activist Girish Prabhune, where he made several controversial aniti-minority statements.

Taking an approach one might expect with respect to a dangerous militant organisation, TISS administration, in its order, has further also asked the anyone who encounters or is approached by members of this group to report the incident to campus security or the institute's student affairs notice, guaranteeing ‘confidentiality’ to such informants.

Other student organisations on campus have condemned the ban on PSF, demanding it to be withdrawn. The Student Federation of India (SFI) has issued a statement calling the ban an 'undemocratic' move.

“It is alarming that the TISS administration has taken this undemocratic action without any valid reason, but to solely divide the student community. The decision to ban PSF is a direct attack on democratic rights and freedom of expression," the statement further says.

PSF is yet to issue an official response to the ban. When asked, those associated said that the organisation is still working on the same, but will issue the statement at the earliest.

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