Teachers’ assn condemns varsity’s decision to oust associate professor

The Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Associations (FEDCUTA) on Monday condemned the South Asian University’s (SAU) decision to terminate Associate Professor Snehashish Bhattacharya, two years after suspending him for allegedly backing student protests against stipend cuts.

In a statement, the federation drew parallels with the recent termination of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Dr Rohan Venkatesh Halapeti Choudhari, who was appointed to the Centre for Political Studies, School of Social Sciences, in April 2024 as an Assistant Professor.

It said that the show cause notices issued to Bhattacharya in 2022 by the SAU was the first chapter in a long tale of harassment. In December 2022, he and three other teachers were served show-cause notices after students protested against stipend cuts and demanded student representation in gender committees. In June 2023, the four were suspended for supporting dialogue instead of police action or expulsions.

Eventually, Bhattacharya was dismissed, while another professor, Irfanullah Farooqi, lost his job after the university refused to regularise his appointment.

FEDCUTA called the process arbitrary, saying, “The SAU administration acted as accuser, judge, jury, and executioner.”

It cited the Delhi High Court’s order wherein it quashed the expulsions of students stating that the “manner in which the SAU proceeded” “could not be regarded an action taken in good faith. “There can be no question that in articulating their genuine understanding, the faculty members of SAU did no more than discharge their duties as teachers. They stood for the university being a democratic space where dialogue and discussion should prevail,” it said.