Left student body banned in TISS; cites ‘Illegal’ activities

Mumbai: The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) administration has shifted its attention from individual students to student groups, having previously targeted both teaching and non-teaching staff. The Progressive Students Forum (PSF) is the most recent target; on Monday, August 19, the institute formally "banned" the group with immediate effect through a one-page notice.

The institute asserted in the letter, which was signed by Anil Sutar, the registrar, that the students' forum is "illegally" operating on campus. “This group has been engaging in activities that obstruct the institute’s function, defame the institute, demean members of our community, and create division among students and faculty.”

PSF was also accused by the institute’s administration of “misleading, distracting, and misguiding students from their academic pursuits and harmonious life on campus.”

PSF is a loosely affiliated student organisation with a leftist stance. It has been active on campus for a long time, mostly focusing on student concerns and challenging the institute for following the government's lead on several occasions. Formerly independent, TISS is now directly overseen by the University Grants Commission (UGC) after losing its autonomy lately. The students' ability to voice concerns to the school administration has also been lost as a result of their loss of autonomy.

The PSF has been the target of the institute's attention before. A PhD candidate from the Dalit community named Ramadas Prini Sivanandan was suspended in April for taking part in a demonstration against the National Education Policy (NEP) that was held in Delhi. Sivanandan, a PSF leader, was accused of participating in “anti-national activity,” and the institute went so far as to invite law enforcement agencies to “investigate” him. Sivanandan has taken TISS to court, the Wire reported.

Similar to PSF, TISS has a number of student organisations according to their political affiliation. The PSF, Adivasi Students Forum (ASF), Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), North East Students Forum (NESF), Muslim Students Forum (MSF), Fraternity Movement (FM), and Democratic Secular Students Forum (DSSF) are a few of these active groups. In recent years, right-wing organisations such as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) have also established themselves within the institute.

For TISS, banning an organisation is a first. PSF members claim that the order's wording criminalises them. “Any student or faculty member found supporting, associating with, or propagating the group’s divisive ideologies will be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in our institute policies,” the order reads.

Additionally, the institute has asked for information about any faculty or students taking part in PSF activities so that they can be brought to their notice. “All reports will be handled with utmost confidentiality,” the office order claims.

Several student members have stated that this order is a “witch hunt.” “The institute has already shown what it can do. One student had already been suspended, and the institute was eager for the police to go after him and others. Now they have made us look like a banned terror organisation,” a student told The Wire.

The erratic hostel accommodations offered to recently enrolled postgraduate students is one of the recent concerns brought out by PSF. PSF said in an email to the institute that TISS no longer views hostel services as a necessary but basic amenity for students, but rather as a luxury. In a recent decision, TISS referred to PSF as "illegal," but it did not specify the reasons behind the prohibition.

The institution has not provided a detailed explanation for the organization's perceived "illegality" or for the purported disruption of the institute's operations caused by PSF. There has also been no explanation for other claims that students were misled and misguided.

The institute's image has significantly declined from before. Almost a dozen PhD students from the Dalit, Adivasi, and Other Backward Classes (OBC) received eviction notices last month for allegedly having"overstayed" on campus, despite the fact that the majority of them had only been there for two or three years.

Up to 115 TISS teaching and non-teaching faculty members received notices of termination just a few days prior. The institute was forced to retract the termination letters in the wake of the uproar.