‘Existential threat’: Ashoka University faculty demand revoking resignation of Sabyasachi Das

NEW DELHI: The Department of Economics, Ashoka University in an open letter to the governing body demanded that the institute should ‘unconditionally offer’ Sabyasachi Das his post. The Ashoka University economics professor, Sabyasachi Das, resigned after his paper, ‘Democratic Backsliding in the World’s Largest Democracy” alleging electoral manipulation by the BJP in the 2019 general elections stirred controversy.

Putting forward their demand to revoke the acceptance of resignation, it asked the university to affirm that the governing body will “play no role in evaluating faculty research through any committee or any other structure”. The statement by the faculty comes days after academics condemned the silence of his colleagues.

The offer of resignation of Das and the “hasty acceptance by the University has deeply ruptured the faith that we in the faculty of the department of Economics, our colleagues, our students, and well-wishers of Ashoka University everywhere, had reposed in the University's leadership”, the joint statement said.

The faculty defended Das and said that he did not violate any accepted norm of academic practice. It also noted that the academic research is evaluated through a peer review process.

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Calling it an institutional harassment, the faculty of economics said that the interference of the governing body to investigate the merit of his recent study curtails academic freedom and “forces scholars to operate in an environment of fear”.

Condemning the move, it collectively refused to cooperate with any future attempt to evaluate research done by members of the economics faculty by the governing body.

“The Ashoka Economics department has been painstakingly built into what is widely considered amongst the preeminent economics departments in the country. The actions of the Governing Body pose an existential threat to the department. It is likely to precipitate an exodus of faculty, and prevent us from attracting new faculty,” it added.

The department further warned to not carry forward with their ‘teaching obligations’ unless the matter is resolved before the start of Monsoon 2023 semester. “We urge the Governing Body to address this immediately, but no later than August 23, 2023. Failure to do so will systematically wreck the largest academic department at Ashoka and the very viability of the Ashoka vision,” it said.