After Lankan supervisor exit, PhD scholar quits SAU over Chomsky row
SAU is an international university sponsored by eight SAARC countries and comes under the Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka is a member state of its Governing Board, and Perera was the only Sri Lankan professor on campus.
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As first reported by The Indian Express on July 27 last year, SAU issued notices to Perera in April 2024 and the research scholar in May 2024 demanding an explanation regarding his conduct.
A PhD scholar at South Asian University whose doctoral research proposal on Kashmir’s ethnography and politics had earned him a showcause notice from the institution and led to a disciplinary inquiry against his supervisor has left SAU citing personal reasons, The Indian Express has learnt. The research proposal had referenced American linguist Noam Chomsky’s criticism of the NDA government.
The PhD scholar’s exit comes within six months of his faculty supervisor Sasanka Perera quitting over the issue. Perera, a Sri Lankan anthropologist who taught at SAU for 13 years and helped found its Sociology department, had told The Indian Express last September that he decided to retire prematurely because he did not see any “semblance of justice” coming from an inquiry that was initiated “on trumped-up and irrational charges”. His last day on campus was July 31, 2024.
SAU is an international university sponsored by eight SAARC countries and comes under the Ministry of External Affairs. Sri Lanka is a member state of its Governing Board, and Perera was the only Sri Lankan professor on campus.
As first reported by The Indian Express on July 27 last year, SAU issued notices to Perera in April 2024 and the research scholar in May 2024 demanding an explanation regarding his conduct.
The notice issued to the PhD student flagged a private YouTube video of an interview with Chomsky, cited in the scholar’s proposal, in which the linguist is heard saying that the Prime Minister is attempting to “dismantle Indian secular democracy” and “impose Hindu ethnocracy”.
While Perera subsequently quit over the issue, the researcher appeared before a disciplinary committee and apologised to the university administration for hurting sentiments.
According to sources, in December, officials from his department reached out to the researcher to inquire about his absence. In response, it is learnt that he cited medical reasons and assured the university that he would return to the department in the first week of January 2025. However, on January 24, the university’s Proctor office issued an email summoning him to appear before a proctorial committee on January 28. That same day, the scholar informed the office that he had withdrawn from the PhD programme. It is also learnt that he had conveyed that he was no longer associated with SAU, as he had decided to focus on his business and had already communicated this decision to his new supervisor.
When contacted, the scholar did not comment on the matter. SAU President Professor K K Agarwal told The Indian Express to direct queries to the press relations office. The press relations officer, O P Yadav, and the Chairperson of the SAU’s Sociology Department (in which the PhD scholar was enrolled), Dev Nath Pathak, did not respond to calls and messages.
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