The stated vision of South Asian University (SAU) is expansive. Located in Delhi, it is sponsored by all eight SAARC nations to “strengthen regional consciousness” by providing “liberal and humane education to the brightest and the most dedicated students of South Asia so that a new class of quality leadership is nurtured”. However, the “undertaking” that SAU expects incoming students to sign undermines its own promise. It also violates the students’ fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of expression and association.
The “General Declaration” asks students to promise that they will “neither join in any agitation/strike for the purpose of forcing the authorities of the University to resolve any problem”, nor will they “participate in any activity which has a tendency to disturb the peace and tranquility of academic environment of the SAU campus/or its hostel premises”. It also asks incoming students to declare that they are “not suffering from any serious/contagious ailment and/or any psychiatric/psychological disorder”. SAU’s administration must ask itself: Can “quality leadership” be created by muzzling students? And at a time when educational institutions across India and the world are trying to have open conversations about mental health, should young adults be asked to “declare” their mental health issues? This is violative of the imperative of confidentiality and privacy when it comes to a citizen’s medical history.
SAU’s undertaking is part of a dismal pattern in several higher education institutions across the country. Students are infantilised and there is an attempt to control and confine them instead of encouraging them to learn about and experiment with ideas, identities and politics. And the university, instead of being a safe space for free speech, is seen as a battleground. University administrations, public or private, from JNU to Ashoka University and Hyderabad Central University, among others, appear to harbour a fear of being challenged by their faculty and students. In November last year, SAU suspended or expelled four students and five faculty members for protesting fee hikes. Now, with its repressive General Declaration, it is setting up a stark choice for students: To receive higher education, they must sacrifice their rights. Such a binary flies in the face of constitutional values. Unless it wants to let down “the brightest and most dedicated” young people it purports to serve, SAU must withdraw this undertaking.
