Students organisations at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai have alleged that the institute is engaging in several undemocratic practices, from failing to conduct student elections, doing away with the transparency in admission process, to restricting students' right to gather and celebrate on campus. The student organisations  have expressed concerns and raised the questions of increasing lack of transparency and democratic processes on the campus.

“This is the first time in the recent past that student union elections have not taken place at TISS. As per the UGC guidelines, they are supposed to conduct elections within eight weeks of the commencement of the academic year,” a student associated with the Progressive Students’ Forum (PSF) said.

The last students’ election at TISS Mumbai was held in July 2023. In May 2024, the institute suspended the elected students’ union. Since then, the students said that no election has been conducted or even announced.

“The University Grants Commission (UGC) mandates that ‘universities and colleges across the country must ordinarily conduct elections for the appointment of students to student representative bodies’. Here, they suspended the elected students’ body without consultation with anyone. We sent them a proper email, asking why they had not conducted student elections. We received no response from them,” a student from Ambedkarite Students’ Association (ASA) told Indie Journal on condition of anonymity.

Instead, she said, now all the activities that were conducted under the elected students body, are conducted by their chosen student representatives.

“They have formed a committee of Class Representatives (CRs) and are trying to conduct all the activities through this committee. The institute’s counter argument is that the CRs are also elected representatives. However, even the CRs are not willing to take up this responsibility, they only want to represent the interests of their classes,” the student added.

She also said that since the suspension of the elected students’ body, the committee chosen by the institute has been conducting all the events without consultation with the students.

“Earlier, the elected students’ council would hold a general body meeting with all the students. Then those students who wished to participate in those events, those who wished to volunteer, would do so. All of that has stopped now. The new body does not consult students before organising any event,” the student added.

The guidelines from Lyngdoh Committee, which were endorsed by the Supreme Court, mandate elections within six to eight weeks of an academic session. However, no elections have been held at TISS, 28 weeks into the current session, as per a joint statement issued by a few progressive minded students unions at TISS, including Adivasi Students’ Forum, Fraternity, Northeast Students’ Forum, Ambedkarite Students’ Association (ASA), Muslim Students’ Forum and Progressive Students’ Forum (PSF).

“The student union elections at TISS are usually conducted by an election committee, which comprises the Dean of Student Affairs, an election officer, members of the previous elected student council, members of the previous election committee, etc. It is this committee that calls the elections. This year, the election committee itself has not been formed,” the PSF student said.

The institute also charges students Rs 500 per semester for the conduct of elections, and the statement issued by the student organisations states that the fees have been collected this year as well.

“The funds collected through these fees would be used by the election committee to conduct the student elections. After that, for the utilisation of the rest of the funds, the elected students council would prepare a budget and conduct a general body meeting of all the students to discuss it. With suggestions from all the students, the budget would be finalised,” the PSF student explains. He now raises concerns over the usage of these funds, since there is no election committee or an elected student council.

“The funds collected through these fees amount over Rs 25 lakh, and they will keep increasing every year now that intake of students has increased. This year, in the absence of elected representatives, the students would not know how these funds were utilised. Someone will use them, the teachers will invite students in their favour to do so. We just don’t know who or how. There is a complete lack of transparency,” he said.

“It is almost the end of the year now. Our institute day will be at the end of this month. They need to conduct all the activities before that, and hence, they are now asking the committee of CRs to carry them out,” he added.

“Forming a platform of CRs cannot be used as a substitute to an elected students’ union and therefore initiating the process for SU elections is imperative. The absence of an elected body has enabled the administration to bypass accountability, leading to arbitrary decisions that directly impact student welfare and academic life,” the statement by the student organisations says.

The student from the ASA said that one such decision was the change in policy regarding payment of fees through installments.

“They are now asking the students to pay the fees sooner. The institute is also charging late fees, extra fees to the students who are unable to pay the fees within the deadline. Some students can pay their fees only when they receive their scholarship funds. The institute is even imposing late fees on these students,” the student said.

Further, the statement issued by the students’ unions has also alleged that the administration is now able to make authoritarian decisions without accountability, because of the absence of an elected students’ council.

Citing a recent example, wherein the institute recently ordered the closure of the back gate of the main campus between 11:30 pm and 5:30 am, the statement adds, “This decision, introduced without explanation or consultation, jeopardises student safety and academic access. Non hostellers and students shuttling between campuses are forced to take longer, poorly lit roads at odd hours, increasing risks of harassment and accidents. Additionally, it restricts access to libraries, study spaces and collaborative academic work, undermining the institute’s responsibility to facilitate learning.”

The student from ASA also expressed her concerns over the recent changes in the admission process, which she says are detrimental to the diversity at the institute.

“Earlier, the admissions were carried out through TISS CET. Whoever cleared this exam would be called for interviews. Even the interviews were transparent, and their scorecards would be available online. This year, the structure changed and the admissions took place through CUET PG. However, they have not released the scorecard for this exam,” she said.

She also said that she is sceptical about the admissions. “We run a helpline for students, where we guide the new students through the admission process. This year, we know many students who had scored above the cutoff, but have not been admitted. But no one raised the issue, as everyone is scared,” she added.

"We are raising our voice, because if we don’t, things will get worse here."

The students also said that since last year, the TISS administration has banned gatherings of students and prohibited celebrations. However, they allege that the ban is limited to the progressive students’ forums while the right-wing organisations have not been banned.

“Last year, we celebrated a couple of events like Savitribai Phule’s birth anniversary, Shahadat Diwas, etc. They were just gatherings, where we came together, sang songs. Following this, on January 17, 2024, they issued orders prohibiting any such gatherings or celebrations. But On January 22, on the day of the Ayodhya Ram Temple inauguration, the right-wing student unions in the campus held celebrations. They were not banned,” the ASS student said. 

TISS has been in the news for the past few years over allegations of undemocratic practices on campus. Last year, the TISS administration had issued an immediate ban on the student body PSF, calling it illegal. The decision later had to be revoked. A Dalit PhD student at TISS has been suspended and barred from all TISS campuses since April 2024, for many arbitrary reasons, including participation in a protest.

“We are raising our voice, because if we don’t, things will get worse here. This place will not be the same for the next generations. Our main fight is for the student union's election now,” the student said.