Almost 600 Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) alumni from different campuses and across various batches and courses have signed a statement appealing to the administration to withdraw the two-year suspension order issued to PhD student Ramadas Prini Sivanandan.
In a press release dated, April 27, 2024, and uploaded on social media platform X by the Progressive Students' Forum of TISS (@psftiss), it stated, "The statement, signed by concerned TISS alumni from the batches 1977 to 2024, called the suspension order 'shocking' and 'opposed to the democratic values and constitutional ethos of social justice, inclusivity, and free thought."
Decision contradicting institute's ethos
The statement mentions that TISS's pedagogy encourages critical thinking and examining state policies via an angle of societal exclusion and inclusion. Hence, the alumni termed the student's suspension as 'unprecedented' on grounds of participating in a democratic movement and condemned the terming of the student's actions as 'anti-national' as 'concerning and reprehensible.'
They further raise the questions around freedom of speech and expression on the campus with the statement adding that, "TISS must remain a space where students have the freedom to engage in social justice movements and advocate for social change without the fear of punishment."
Suspension of Ramadas goes against social justice
The statement further points out that the suspension of a Dalit student and a first-generation learner is against the values of social justice and inclusivity which is hailed by TISS and has inspired students.
Ramadas, a PhD student was suspended and debarred from TISS campuses for two years as the institute alleged that he had participated in a United Students of India rally under the banner of TISS in front of the Parliament in Delhi, and in another instance, had beckoned everyone to watch the documentary Ram ke Naam and other 'anti-national' activities that he carried out on campus.
