IIT-M: Madras brew

On February 23, 56 teachers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee about their concern over recent developments in institutions of higher education. “Calling for dismemberment and ruin of our country in the name of dissent is not acceptable,” the anguished academics wrote.

The statement was reportedly drafted by Shreepad Karmalkar, who teaches at IIT-M’s department of electrical engineering. Karmalkar later told the media that the statement was prompted by the recent agitations in Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Hyderabad and even IIT-M. “We support intellectual freedom, and alternative views are a must for democracy and creativity. However, there is a deep distortion of the meaning of academic freedom,” the statement said.

But not many seem to agree. “This is phoney,” says an IIT-M faculty member who does not want to be named. “These academics appear deeply ignorant about how the government has been treating innocent students and teachers in JNU,” he says. Instead of standing with their ilk, they are dancing to the State’s tunes, he says. “This is quite unfortunate, and the fact is they don’t quite believe in giving room for alternative views.”

Agrees Akhil Bharathan, a student of development studies, and a member of Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle (APSC), the group which IIT-M banned in May last year, triggering nationwide protests. “It was a paranoid move by the HRD ministry,” Bharathan says about the ban. The group was derecognised after the HRD ministry received an anonymous complaint, which it diligently forwarded to IIT-M. The letter alleged that the APSC was sparking “hatred” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hindus. The group was derecognised for allegedly violating the institute’s code of conduct. “Your student body is derecognised by the institute,” Sivakumar Srinivasan, the dean, had informed the students over email. Srinivasan signed off his mail with a motto: “On a mission to nurture the students of today to be change leaders of tomorrow”.

“The ban also exposed the dormant casteism on the campus,” says Pratheesh Prakash, an IIT-M alumnus, who was a vocal supporter of the APSC. Bharathan and his APSC comrades met with stiff opposition from a section of students and academics. He even received threats. “I got messages saying my family members will be raped and killed,” he says. “All we did was conduct discussions on the writings of Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of India’s Constitution, which is the backbone of institutions such as the IITs.”

The issue soon snowballed into a controversy — online and offline. Social media witnessed intense debates. And the administration had to retract. On June 8, the institute unconditionally reinstated APSC’s recognition, a move which was welcomed by DMK chief Muthuvel Karunanidhi, among others.

Many believe the APSC agitation was epochal. “It was unprecedented in the history of IITs, which rarely witness political protests,” says Prakash. The protests helped bring a degree of political awareness to a campus known for being apolitical. “To be fair, this was an achievement,” says Bharathan. Many students agree that the APSC episode gave them the confidence to be vocal with their dissent.

“The best thing that happened was several students took up copies of The Annihilation of Caste by Ambedkar,” says Bharathan.

It also highlighted the need for students in institutions of higher education to be politically aware. “That’s happening, but slowly,” agrees Deepak Johnson, a former student leader of IIT-M. “There is an urgent need for students in the IITs to become more politically aware,” he says.

But as of now, that’s a big ask. A circular was sent out recently banning political activities in the institute. Dated January 31, it instructed first-year students to not indulge in activities that would tarnish the institute’s image. They were also asked to stay away from political activities inside the campus. Such activities are against the “apolitical nature of the institute”, the circular said. In the news reports that followed, the dean Srinivasan denied issuing any such orders. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, the director, said it could be a “mistake” made by his colleagues. The administration did not respond to a list of queries from BL ink . The APSC, though, considers the new developments a gag on freedom of speech. “It is a vague rule that can be used against students in different contexts,” says one of its leaders. The students allege this intolerance is directed only at left-wing, Dalit student groups whereas right-leaning ones such as Vivekananda Study Circle and Vande Mataram enjoy official blessings. They openly propagate the political ideology of the RSS and even invite their leaders to the campus, they add.

“We support the right to express dissent,” says Dheeresh Chandra K, the students’ general secretary at IIT-M. “But it should not disrupt the harmony on campus.” However, Chinta Bar, an independent students’ forum, considers the latest developments on the campus a move to silence dissenting voices and corner independent student bodies. It may not be a coincidence that this circular comes soon after student uprisings on campuses across the country following Rohith Vemula’s suicide, says a statement from Chinta Bar. Students say they will resist if such orders are imposed without discussion. The 250-hectare IIT-Madras for long remained a serene, green sprawl in the heart of a chaotically transforming metropolis. Now change is knocking at its doors.

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