On Sunday, November 17, teachers and students from multiple universities gathered at the Press Club of India in New Delhi, to show their support for Professors Salil Mishra, and Asmita Kabra, protesting against their termination from Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD), reported Maktoob Media.
The solidarity meeting, organised by the Democratic Teachers Initiative (DTI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA), called for the revocation of the professors' terminations, further condemning the move as an attack on academic freedom.
Faculty members from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), and Delhi University (DU) also joined the protest, rallying for the cause.
Salil Mishra, a history professor, and Asmita Kabra, from the School of Human Ecology, were dismissed by the Board of Management (BoM) of Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) on November 5.
According to sources, the dismissal followed allegations of procedural lapses in the regularisation of 38 non-teaching staff in 2018 under the ‘One-Time Absorption Policy,’ which was intended to formalise the employment of staff who had played a key role in the university’s early development.
Although the inquiry found no evidence of corruption or financial misconduct, the committee criticised the professors' actions as 'conduct unbecoming of a public servant,' leading to their termination.
According to Maktoob Media, the convenor of the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), Uma Gupta, while addressing the convention, said that Dr GS Patnaik’s committee cleared all administrators involved in the regularisation policy of any wrongdoing.
Despite this, the Board of Management (BoM) formed a second committee, which also found no evidence of malafide intent or financial irregularities.
This decision has drawn widespread criticism, with many highlighting that Dr Patnaik’s committee had already vindicated them of any charges.
Other student leaders and teachers followed suit and extended their solidarity to the professors in the congregation.
