AISA voices support for students ‘arbitrarily’ expelled by South Asian University

NEW DELHI: After South Asian University expelled five students for protesting against stipend cuts, the All India Students' Association (AISA) has voiced solidarity with the students.

“SAU Administration has arbitrarily expelled and rusticated five students for protesting against the administration. All university spaces that were once a safe space for democratic debate and discussions have turned into dystopian nightmares. The administration at South Asian University focusses all its energy into stifling dissent,” the AISA said in a statement.

The South Asian University students had been protesting for over five months over multiple issues, including stipend cuts. It was in October 2022 that the students first raised their demands, however, the university “played deaf to all the demands”, AISA said.

Also read | Over Rs 2,000 crore cut from 12 scholarship, fellowship schemes

The only action that the administration at SAU took after the prolonged protest was to expel two students, rusticate another two, and suspend one student. “It is clear that the university administration has zero sense of welfare towards the students, and it became even more apparent when one of the students, Ammar Ahmed, attempted suicide due to institutional harrassment. Ammar Ahmed continues to suffer through long term complications that include difficulty in mobility and speech,” it said.

Alleging that the university “ignored” the students demands and “took no responsibility for the trauma caused to Ammar”, the AISA claimed that on January 13, five more students received show-cause notices and were interrogated by an ad-hoc “high powered” committee.

Following this, the students received emails from the proctor informing them of their expulsion and rustication on February 18.

It further informed that a court case against the “undemocratic expulsion” of the doctoral students, Bhimraj M and Umesh Joshi, is ongoing, and the administration has issued two more expulsion notices to Prochetha M, MPhil Sociology student and Apoorva YK, second-year LLM student.

Also read | 70% adhoc teachers displaced: Manish Sisodia on delay in forming governing bodies in DU colleges

Keshav Sawarn, second-year MA Sociology student and Rohit Kumar, PhD scholar have received rustication letters, along with Bonna Chakraborty first-year MA Sociology student who has received a fine.

“The university went to the extent of heavily punishing the students with expulsion for standing up in support of their friend who underwent extreme mental torture at the hands of the administration.We must stand strong against all attempts of stifling dissent by the people in power,” the AISA added.