Post JNU, Rohith cases, TISS to discuss ‘attack’ on institutions

In the backdrop of the JNU and Hyderabad university row, some faculty members and students of the city-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), along with some activists, are holding a two-day conference here to discuss the “attack on autonomy of educational institutions and freedom of expression”.

“This is not an official event of TISS. We are a group of academics who are deeply concerned at the attack on autonomy of some higher education institutions,” R. Ramakumar, professor and dean (School of Development Studies) at TISS, said.

The initiative, called ‘Celebrating freedom and pluralism’, will be held at the YB Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, here on March 5 and 6, he said. “We are organising this event because we are concerned over the evolving situation in the country where different constitutional rights of citizens are under threat,” said professor Ramakumar. “We are worried about a situation that is emerging where there is brow beating against freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom to follow one’s religion, freedom to eat the food that we want to eat and the dumbing down of events,” he said.

He also said, “Science and reason are being thrust aside in a renewed campaign of obscurantism.”