Nobel laureate and world renowned economist, Amartya Sen has cautioned the nation against subtle but sinister attempts by the present government to control academic freedom in the country. Citing his own ouster as Chancellor of the fledgling Nalanda University, he claims it is part of a sinister plan to muzzle academic freedom.
Amartya Sen is not only a famous economist but also a person very much keen to intertwine knowledge with reality. He should know what he is talking about. He cautions that his ouster as Chancellor of Nalanda University is not just an isolated incident, but part of a larger game plan to bring academic institutions under control of powers that be.
The BJP-led government, he alleges has embarked on a campaign to dilute academic freedom in higher echelons of learning by not ratifying appointments of directors, to fill up vacancies that had arisen. He also cited the case of the head of the head of the National Book Trust, Sethumadhavan who was told to step down and a RSS ideologue was appointed in his place.
What Amartya Sen is warning us about is that a diabolic plan is being implemented by the Narendra Modi government to bring academic institutions under its control. The appointments of directors of prestigious institutes of higher is being made not on merit but on basis of ideology.
Are we going to heed.Sen’s warning? Or will be a voice of one crying in the wilderness? The intelligentsia of the country and academicians must come together to raise their voices against this subtle attempt by the government to not only control academic freedom but to muzzle individual freedom.
If we fail to do so, who knows we may see emergency being introduced through the back door. Was that perhaps what veteran leader and ex-deputy PM, L.K. Advani was warning about when he cautioned the nation recently that emergency could be imposed again?
