JNU faculty member raises campus concerns in open letter to President Murmu

New Delhi: A faculty member of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has written an open letter to President Droupadi Murmu, expressing concern over the quality of public discourse and debate on campus. In the letter dated March 6, M Christhu Doss, a faculty member at the Centre for Historical Studies in the School of Social Sciences III, raised issues related to academic dialogue, institutional culture, and the need to uphold what he termed intellectual honesty within the university.

Addressed to the President, who is the Visitor of central universities, the letter calls for attention to maintaining a culture of debate, critical thinking and academic integrity in institutions of higher learning. Doss said universities should remain spaces where dialogue, dissent and scholarly debate are conducted responsibly and based on factual discussion.

The letter emphasised the importance of protecting the broader idea of JNU as a place for open intellectual exchange and democratic engagement among students and faculty members. According to the professor, academic institutions must encourage informed discourse while ensuring that public discussions do not undermine trust within the academic community.

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"Hence, any responsible and responsive JNUite would understand that JNUTA's wilful propaganda, which distorts the truth, is not the opinion of JNU's larger epistemic community," he wrote. Copies of the letter have also been sent to the vice president, the prime minister and the Union education minister.