"Throughout my time under Professor Dalwai's guidance, she consistently exhibited an impartial and unbiased approach towards her students. She never hinted at, let alone displayed, any form of bias or prejudice based on our political or religious beliefs. This level of impartiality and respect for diversity in the classroom is truly commendable," reads a testimony of a BCom LLB student from OP Jindal Global University for Professor Sameena Dalwai, who has become a new victim of 'cancel culture' and a continued witch hunt.
This is one of the testimonies among several that was submitted to the administration on November 7, 2023 by the students' community of the OP Jindal Global University. The outpour of solidarity towards Prof Dalwai was a collective effort from the students as well as the members of the Safdar Hashmi Reading Circle, with the username @
In a separate statement publicly posted by the circle on Instagram on December 25, 2023, read, "Today, in solidarity with Professor Dalwai, we are publicly releasing those testimonies, as a show of unwavering condemnation towards the draconian action being pursued against her."
Prof Dalwai while teaching the module Gender and Society to third-year law students on the specific topic of Desire, Sexuality and Gender demonstrated an activity using a dating site which allegedly had left a few students uncomfortable. Prof Dalwai, who teaches at the university, was trolled online relentlessly for the same and an FIR (First Information Report) was lodged against her.
It is to be noted that the academician was also targeted for an email exchange about Palestine with a faculty member from the university on November 7, 2023, that was later leaked.
Education retaining the essence of democracy
EdexLive reached out to a member of the Safdar Hashmi Reading Circle and inquired about the process of collecting these earnest testimonies. The student, on the condition of anonymity, informed that the decision to amass these testimonies was taken preceding the visit of the Chairperson of the Haryana State Commission For Women, Renu W Bhatia on November 7, 2023, who accused Prof Dalwai of "stalking" and "harassing" the female students by objectifying them in class.
"We, via the reading circle, are trying to produce a counter-narrative to the structured politics aimed at vilifying Prof Dalwai," adds the member of the reading circle. The member further says that the pedagogy that Prof Dalwai uses is truly progressive, and sensitises an individual about the power dynamics that revolve around desire, caste, and sexuality. "These topics are interrelated, and such social issues, when taken up, tend to make one feel uncomfortable but isn't this its aim? To make one face the harsh truth."
Recently, over 500+ academicians, from the national and global community, released a statement in support of Prof Sameena Dalwai, saying, "Education is the key to the spirit of democracy". The statement released by academics calls the professor's method an "innovative teaching tool to practically appreciate how attraction and dating, just like marriage, follow the identity markers of caste, class, religion, skin colour, languages."
The member of the reading circle says that the attack on Professor Dalwai is "concerted and planned" and that the professor has always challenged the power construct and tried to thwart the hegemony established by the consensus.
Discussion on caste, class, gender, and society will not be easy
"Having been a student of Prof Dalwai, I can attest to her absolute and utmost commitment to maintaining professional boundaries and ethics while taking classes and interacting with students. As a queer student of law and humanities, it is with a special fondness that I note how much of a safe space Prof Dalwai's classroom was - I even felt comfortable enough to draw from my own experiences as a queer individual in classroom assignments, where relevant to the task at hand, and felt that these anecdotes were met with sensitivity, while maintaining a professional boundary necessary..." wrote a BA LLB 2019
But how do these student testimonies from more than 40 students subvert the notion that has been established against Prof Sameena Dalwai?
Read on to find out:
1) Prof. Dalwai has been instrumental in enhancing my knowledge on feminist literature and practice. She has consistently provided a safe and engaging classroom space, fertile for the discussion of diverse ideas and critique. Her ability to weave complex concepts into accessible pedagogy has been immensely helpful throughout the course. She is an enthusiastic and considerate professional, dedicated to ethical teaching, and I stand in support of her.
2) She as professor always made me feel like I was in a safe space and I could voice my opinion openly. She has always made me feel comfortable during class and always supported me as a student to learn more.
3) Prof. Dalwai maintains professional conduct when she is taking class. She provides a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear.
4) Professor Sameena Dalwai is a committed academic who has always exhibited a sense of professionalism in her teaching. She has never hinted towards, let alone displayed, any sense of bias or prejudice towards students in her class due to their political or religious opinions.
5) Professor Sameena Dalwai is a committed academic who has always exhibited a sense of professionalism in her teaching. She has never hinted towards, let alone displayed, any sense of bias or prejudice towards students in her class due to their political or religious opinions.
6) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
7) Professor Dalwai has taught our class and I have personally had 0 bad experiences.
8) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
9) I was taught by Prof. Dalwai and she has been nothing short of a brilliant academician. She has always been true to her ethics and never been prejudiced against anyone. She has maintained professionalism throughout the course and provided everyone an opportunity to be heard.
10) Prof. Sameena Dalwai has always been very encouraging and professional in her approach towards academics. Her classes are always filled with engaging conversations and discussions of academic work. I completely support her and feel like this is a blatant crackdown on her freedom of speech, especially in an academic space. Professor Dalwai always maintains professional boundaries and makes the classroom a safe space.
11) She has been a wonderful, intuitive and knowledgeable professor. She has taught us to think harder about the world we are in. She has taught us in a way most appropriate to her incredibly important ideas. I have felt extremely secure in her classes. I am extremely grateful to meet an incredible academic like her.
12) Prof. Dalwai has been an incredible lecturer and has been nothing but wonderful in her lectures and otherwise as a professor. She has been incredibly helpful and inspiring in my journey as a student.
13) Professor Dalwai always maintains a professional conduct when she is taking class. I can testify that she has always provided a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear.
14) Prof. Sameena has always acted in favour of the students and their welfare, further she had always given a fair warning on anything being triggered for the students. She has innovative ways of teaching and engaging the class. She has always maintained a professional conduct and provided a safe space for students to voice their opinions without fear.
15) I have always enjoyed and learnt immensely from Professor Dalwai's lectures. She has always been professional and ethical while keeping in mind the comfort of the students. She is unbiased and always encourages an open mind during discussions. She teaches us in extremely interesting ways and may use unique methodologies. She has never made me or anyone I know uncomfortable. I can testify for her excellence and ethics.
16) Professor Dalwai always maintains a professional conduct when she is taking class. I can testify that she has always provided a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear.
17) Professor Dalwai and her classes have been a fundamental aspect of the progressive legal curriculum that is taught at JGLS. Their teaching brings important critical and intersectional perspectives on law in the classroom. Professor Dalwai always maintains a professional conduct when she is taking class. I can testify that she has always provided a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear.
18) Professor gave my class a guest lecture for our gender and society class. We discussed sensitive topics like sexual assaults, rape and consent. I never felt unsafe. She was very professional and sensitive when dealing with such complex subject matter. She never crossed any lines or made me feel unsafe or unheard.
19) As a student, I have found Professor Dalwai to be an amazing teacher who has been very helpful. She has never made me or anybody I know feel uncomfortable in a classroom setting. When teaching, Professor Dalwai always conducts herself in a professional manner. I can attest that she has consistently offered a secure environment for learning where students can freely express their opinions.
20) Professor Sameena Dalwai has abided by a strong ethical code while teaching us. She has never discriminated against students on the basis of their politics or religion, nor has she acted unprofessionally.
21) Professor Dalwai always maintains a professional conduct when she is taking class. I can testify that she has always provided a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear.
22) Professor Dalwai taught me the subject Gender and Society. While in her class, I never felt like she disrespected my opinions or that she crossed any boundaries. I believe in her professionalism and her ethical sense. I would also like to attest to her competence as a professor, as she was able to navigate the entire class and myself through some tricky periods during the COVID lockdown.
23) Professor Dalwai always maintains a professional conduct when she is taking class. I can testify that she has always provided a safe space for learning and for students to voice their opinion without any fear. I have gained greatly from her pedagogical practices.
24) Professor Dalwai taught me Gender and Society in my second year. She has always respected the ethics of a classroom and taught with compassion and empathy. Being in her class was a transformative experience because of her expertise in the subject matter. She has never compromised on the safe space of the classroom and has always made all students feel heard and seen.
25) Professor Sameena Dalwai is a committed academic who has always exhibited a sense of professionalism in her teaching. She has never hinted towards, let alone displayed, any sense of bias or prejudice towards students in her class due to their political or religious opinions.
26) She is a very good professor and has never crossed any boundaries and safeguarded all her students . She has always remained extremely ethical and professional.
27) My experience with her has always been very professional. I admire her for the passion that she teaches with and the efforts she puts into teaching.
28) Prof. Dalwai taught me Gender and Society which is a core course as well as an elective called Introduction to Feminist Thought. In both the courses she was very accommodative and understanding of students' needs and difficulties that they were during the lockdown and did whatever she could to at her end to alleviate those problems. She would be available to hear you out and has many a times made it clear that if there was anything she could help us with academically she will be happy to extend that help. Prof. Dalwai is a great educator who makes academia easy for students to understand and navigate, by giving us real life examples that we could understand more than by just reading the readings.
29) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
30) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
31) Good teacher
32) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
33) She was a great professor, who maintained a high standard of professional integrity and ethical standards in class.
34) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
35) I absolutely loved how real and engaging Prof Dalwai was while teaching Gender and Society. I felt like I could approach her about anything under the sun without a shred of judgement. She is unfazed as a woman and that gave me the feeling that she had overcome a lot and gained strength from it. I wish our course was taught physically but was unfortunately during covid.
36) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
37) Yes, I believe that Professor Sameena Dalwai is an ethical and principled educator who has never crossed any professional boundaries.
38) Professor Dalwai was very respectful and accommodating towards all students.
