PUCL vows to resist harassment of teachers in Rajasthan

JAIPUR:

People’s Union for Civil Liberties

on Friday condemned the suspension of assistant professor

Rajshree Ranawat

of the English Department by the syndicate of the Jodhpur-based

Jai Narain Vyas University

. In a statement released to the press, PUCL said this move was “throttling of

academic freedom

with the simple motive to create a culture of fear”.

"It is our belief that intellectual freedom is even higher than the freedom of speech and expression as it is an academic privilege to toss and turn every legitimate concept, in order to move the frontiers of knowledge and wisdom. It is only in the dialectics of positions that new knowledge gets created, which necessitates differences and diversity in academia,” the press release said, adding that the teacher was being harassed, being issued show-cause notices and even a suspension. A complaint has even been made to police over a seminar she helped organize.

The university syndicate held her disobedient -- meaning she did not obey orders of the fact-finding committee instituted to examine charges against her. She had failed to depose in front of them. PUCL said the teacher had pleaded for security to depose, as she lived alone and the ABVP had been gunning for her. That request was ignored.

PUCL said the seminar was a great effort to bring together students and academics and present varying views on nationalism. Instead of being commended, the teacher was hounded. The university had also lodged a police complaint alleging that Nivedita Menon of JNU, who addressed the seminar, had treated Bharat Mata with indignity. Menon had shown a map of India with the South on top, in an attempt to elucidate that what was captured in cartography was a matter of perspective. She had also mentioned that people join the Army as a livelihood option. However, news reports suggested that she had said that Kashmir was not an integral part of India – the video of the event does not capture her saying that.

This kind of intolerance is not new to Rajasthan, PUCL said, adding that Sudha Chaudhary of Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, was attacked in 2016 when she held a lecture on the oriental world view of Indian gods and goddesses. PUCL said the university issued a “ridiculous circular” saying that the script of each speaker would be first examined before they are allowed to talk.