NEW DELHI // The suspension of a student debating group by a federally administered university in Chennai has sparked accusations that the Indian government is suppressing dissent.
The Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle (APSC) allegedly criticised prime minister Narendra Modi and his policies and was derecognised by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state.
Hundreds of members of student unions protested outside the IIT campus on Saturday, condemning the ban of the APSC – a group that discussed issues of caste and class hierarchies.
More than 100 protesters were detained by police but released the same day.
Formed in April last year, the APSC was named after B R Ambedkar, a lawyer and freedom fighter who championed the rights of lower-caste Hindus, and E V “Periyar” Ramasamy, a prominent Tamil activist against caste exploitation.
The group organised debates on topics such as the Modi government’s corporate-friendly policies, the domination of the upper Brahmin castes in public life, and the dangers of Hindu nationalist groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an ideological affiliate of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On May 22, the IIT’s dean of students told the APSC it had been derecognised for “controversial activities”. He showed the students a letter from the federal ministry of human resource development dated May 15, asking IIT to take action against the APSC. The ministry said it was acting on an anonymous letter that accused the group of “creating hatred” among students in the name of caste and against the prime minister and Hindus.
On Friday, the IIT issued a statement saying that the APSC had been suspended for not following university guidelines for student groups, and that the measure was only temporary. It made no mention of the federal ministry’s letter or the group’s political stance.
The APSC said the university had twice tried to get it to change its name to a more “apolitical” one last year and had now told the group to clear any further activities with the dean.
The Campus Front of India, a student union, said the APSC’s suspension was a blow to free speech.
“The APSC is a small study circle that happens to call out the pro-corporate policies of the government,” said Abdul Nasir, the union’s president.
“Why should the government fear this small group? It’s just adamant that it should not be criticised by anyone for anything.”
The BJP’s political opponents were quick to jump on the bandwagon.
“IIT student group banned for criticising Modi government. What next? Free speech is our right. We will fight any attempt to crush dissent and debate,” Rahul Gandhi, the vice president of the Congress party, said on Twitter.
The Aam Aadmi Party said the APSC was banned for “encouraging free speech and discussion around the erroneous and anti-people policies of the Narendra Modi government”.
The human resources minister Smriti Irani on Friday denied that the government was involved in the ban on the APSC, saying the IIT was “an autonomous institution which takes its own steps”. She made no mention of her ministry’s letter to the university.
However, on Sunday the ministry acknlowledged sending the letter, saying it had not asked the IIT to suspend the APSC, merely that appropriate appropriate action be taken.
BJP officials have defended the suspension of the group.
“We had heard reports that they were needlessly propagating hatred against prime minister Modi and HRD Minister Smriti Irani,” L Raja, the party’s national secretary, said.
ssubramanian@thenational.ae