TISS in turmoil: Students' body banned, anti-Muslim rhetoric welcomed

In an official circular issued on Monday, 19 August, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has imposed an 'immediate ban of the PSF [Progressive Students' Forum] from all institute premises and activities'.

The startling order adds that 'any attempt by this group to organise or participate in unauthorised events will be met with immediate intervention and consequences'. 

The PSF has been critical of and vocal about the TISS administration’s alleged anti-minority attitude and its handling of students’ welfare for a while now. The circular, in turn, describes the PSF as an 'unauthorised and illegal forum' that obstructs the institute's functions and creates division.

The circular also states: '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 administration further accuses the PSF of misleading and distracting students, asserting that its actions are destructive to academic pursuits and violate the harmony of the campus.  

Other student bodies at TISS — the Adivasi Students' Forum (ASF), the Ambedkarite Students' Association (ASA), the Fraternity Movement, the Muslim Students' Forum (MSF) and the North-East Students' Forum (NESF) — have all condemned the ban and voiced their solidarity with the PSF.

A  joint statement issued by these bodies voiced apprehensions that the ban was part of a deliberate attempt to limit democratic engagements on campus, stifle critical voices and ensuring ideological conformity.

The students' statement demanded the immediate withdrawal of the circular and vowed to create a conducive academic environment for the students. 

“In January, we were told that all student activities would be suspended till further notice," reflects one student, requesting anonymity. "Since then we have not been able to hold panel discussions, film screenings or even observe birth anniversaries of noted thinkers.”

Another student wondered at the use of the word ‘ban’, when the institute has never recognised any student body in the first place.

Several students questioned the invitation to a divisive figure — Girish Y. Prabhune, a Padma Shri recipient and Hindutva activist — to address the students on Independence Day. They wondered how the administration found his anti-Muslim rhetoric on that day to be in keeping with student harmony on campus.

Elections for students’ bodies and representatives are yet to be held, they pointed out, and wondered why the administration was fine with that situation as well. 

TISS has been in turmoil for some time, following complaints of delay in disbursing salary to employees. The institution had notified the termination of 55 faculty members and 60 non-teaching staff earlier this year, citing paucity of funds and claiming that the Tata Education Trust (TET) had not released the funds it had committed.

Following widespread public outrage, contracts of the TET-funded faculty were extended till December 2024, ostensibly after TET announced the release of pending grants.

The faculty and staff hired under the UGC Women's Studies scheme, however, have still not been reinstated, despite the University Grants Comission announcing an extension of all women's studies programmes in the country. 

A group of students complained that of late, communication has broken down between the administration and the students.

They also accused the administration of ideological bias, citing the invitation to Prabhune as guest speaker on Independence Day as the most recent example.

They said that persistent targeting of students, faculty members employees and censoring of democratic activities has created a climate of fear and undermined academic freedom.

The institute has also failed to release the semester IV results for the master's students, with no convocation held this year (it is usually held by May).

“Stricter regulations on student movements, events and spaces seem designed to control students' minds and limit free thinking,” said one of them. With the ban on the PSF, the students have lost the one surviving platform on which they could air their grievances, she said.