19-05-2025
Ali Khan Mahmudabad's arrest: At private universities, the promise of academic freedom belied
Academic freedom (or lack of it) across India's educational institutes has been a matter of discussion for some time. Unfortunately, our rank in the Academic Freedom Index, developed by the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, based at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is 179. What is also alarming is the gradual decline of this score. Educators seem to exercise a lot of self-censorship both within and outside the classroom. Online classes, recordings of lectures and even students are mostly viewed as potential 'risk hazards'. The fear of 'going viral' for something that we might have said in the classroom makes us more aware than we should be in a free academic environment.
Initially, the lack of academic freedom was seen as an exclusive trait of public universities, where the state's involvement often acted as a deterrent. Against this backdrop, the newly emerged private universities like Ashoka University, Shiv Nadar University and O. P. Jindal Global University, to name a few, became an accommodating space for critical studies and discussions. Notably, all of these universities are known for charging exorbitant fees. Several well-known academics left public universities to join these emerging spaces. Many thought that negotiating academic freedom in these alternative spaces would be easier. Beyond the security and safety that a government job offers, the aspirations and hopes surrounding these private universities were significant.
The recent arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad and the subsequent distancing of the university administration from the faculty member show that private universities are no better when it comes to academic freedom. One may argue that the university did not take any action against Mahmudabad for expressing his personal opinion on social media. But its distancing says a lot. In its carefully crafted statement, the university authority said, 'They do not represent the opinion of the university', adding that they would 'continue to cooperate with the Police and local authorities in the investigation, fully.'
This is not the only time when a private university has deserted its employees. Ashoka University has distanced itself many times in the past — Rajendran Narayanan, Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian are some prominent names on the list.
This is not to say that the space of solidarity has disappeared, but it has shrunk. Faculties and students globally have come out in support of these academics, including Mahmudabad. However, it cannot absolve the university of its responsibility to stand by its faculty to uphold academic freedom.
The hypocrisy of these universities gets exposed further when they thrive on their faculty's successes but do not offer support during their tough times. In these universities, the use of social media by faculty members is never discouraged. Rather, they are expected to share updates about their achievements, like recent publications and research grants. University handles are also happy to share and glorify these profiles to attract students. But if their academic engagement invites the government's wrath, they prefer silence or distancing.
Private universities are exclusionary by their very design. Only people of a certain economic class can afford them. In many of these places, no affirmative action is followed either in students' admission or in teachers' recruitment. The aspiration of academic freedom is a major factor in making them thrive.
As private universities fail in this most fundamental aspect, it is high time to rebuild public universities and make them spaces for critical academic debate and discussions.
The writer teaches Sociology in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Guwahati
