Mumbai’s Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has taken disciplinary action against a PhD student, Ramadas Prinisivanandan, for engaging in activities deemed detrimental to national interests. Prinisivanandan has been suspended for two years and barred from entering TISS campuses in Mumbai, Tuljapur, Hyderabad, and Guwahati.
The suspension notice, dated March 7, cited Prinisivanandan’s involvement in activities like participating in a protest in Delhi under the banner of PSF-TISS and organizing events such as the screening of ‘Ram Ke Naam’ documentaries and a banned BBC documentary on the TISS campus. The notice also mentioned his role in organizing the Bhagat Singh Memorial Lecture (BSML) with controversial guest speakers.
According to TISS, these actions were seen as “anti-national” and a violation of the institution’s policies. The notice stated that such activities, conducted under the guise of freedom of speech and expression, were considered serious criminal offenses that tarnished the nation’s reputation.
“The committee recommended your suspension from the institute… for the period of two years and your entry shall be debarred across all campuses of Tata Institute of Social Sciences,” the notice read.
Prinisivanandan, a native of Kerala, has expressed his intention to appeal against the suspension. The Progressive Student Forum, a Left-leaning student body with which Prinisivanandan is associated, defended the activities mentioned in the suspension notice. They clarified that the protest march referred to was against perceived anti-student policies in the National Education Policy and highlighted the BSML’s history of inviting renowned academics, scholars, and human rights activists.
Sources By Agencies