On August 10, a petition was started on change.org, urging the readers and receivers of the petition to Save South Asian University: Revoke Ban on Campus Protests, Halt Undemocratic Actions.
The petition, seemingly drafted by the students of SAU, primarily condemns the allegedly “undemocratic and discriminatory nature” of a recent undertaking that the university mandated incoming students to sign.
In addition, the petition also criticises the actions of the university’s administration against students and faculty members who expressed their dissent against the undertaking’s clauses.
Lack of conscience of admin
In late July, the SAU mandated newly admitted students of the university to sign a General Declaration/Undertaking, which restricts their participation in protests against the university’s administration. This was etched in the fifth point of the Undertaking, which also directs the student to declare that they would not “participate in any activity which has a tendency to disturb the peace and tranquillity of academic environment of the SAU campus and/or its Hostel premises.”
The undertaking also mandates the students to declare that they are not suffering from “any serious/contagious ailment and/or any psychiatric/psychological disorder”, EdexLive reported on June 28.
According to the petitioners who EdexLive spoke to and who wished to stay anonymous, when students and faculty members questioned these clauses, the university’s administration claimed that no clause in the undertaking “may be construed as violating the SAARC Inter-Governmental Agreement, Rules, Regulations and Bylaws.”
The university has also given expulsion and suspension orders to everyone who protested against these clauses, which includes four faculty members and three students. The petition alleges that Ammar Ahmad, one of the expelled students, was even harassed by the university’s administration post-rustication, to the point where he suffered from a paralysing cardiac arrest due to the resultant mental stress – due to which, he is still hospitalised and has not regained his ability to speak.
Apart from these instances, the petitioners also talk about other alleged undemocratic and arbitrary actions by the university, including reducing the number of scholarships, asking the university’s psychologist to submit a list of students undergoing treatment for mental disorders (resulting in the resignation of the psychologist), terminating multiple staff workers and non-teaching faculty without due process, not setting up anti-harassment committees for more than two years, and even dismissing a sexual harassment complaint filed by one of the suspended students without due inquiry. “The Undertaking form is a continuation of a series of undemocratic and inhumane acts by the university administration,” the petition reads.
No checks to admin’s actions
SAU has been established by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which comprises India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, in 2010. While the university’s campus is situated in New Delhi, representatives from these eight nations make up its governing board.
The petitioners claim that this “mess”, as they call it, is happening at SAU as the Governing Body has not met since 2017 due to ongoing political tensions among the member-nations of the SAARC, paralysing the union as a result. The university, as a result, does not have a full-time president, vice-president, or registrar – and the petitioners claim that “professors with minimal experience in administrative matters have occupied these administrative positions in an ad-hoc manner.”
“There are no institutional checks to keep these ad-hoc administrators from arbitrarily exercising their administrative powers,” the petitioners allege. Due to this, the university is “drifting away from the ideals enshrined in the SAARC Charter and SAU agreement.”
The next course of action
“The reason we filed this petition on change.org is to make the world aware of the fact that the administration of an international university in India is taking such autocratic and arbitrary steps,” claims one of the petitioners.
As of today, the students and faculty members who received suspension and expulsion orders have gone to the Delhi High Court, challenging them. In the most recent hearing, the court directed the university to “resolve the matter internally.”
Reportedly, the administration said that it would reinstate the students if they offer unconditional apologies to the university. “To do so, we need to know what mistake we have made. As far as we are concerned, we have only exercised our democratic right to protest. There is nothing wrong with this, and we would continue to challenge our expulsion in court,” says one of the students.
Currently, the petition has 855 signatures on change.org. Once the number of signatures reaches 1,000, the petitioners plan to use this support to “appeal to the university administration to cease their undemocratic and dictatorial activities, withdraw the recent undertaking at the earliest.”
