DU professor alleges censorship as university denies him leave to speak at US institute

The Delhi University has denied professor and political commentator Apoorvanand leave to attend an academic event hosted by a think tank in New York later this month.

Apoorvanand had sought leave to participate in the 20th anniversary celebrations of the India China Institute at The New School in New York from April 23 to May 1. He was slated to speak on the topic “ The university under a global authoritarian turn” during the visit, The Indian Express reported.

The university administration demanded that Apoorvanand, a professor in the Hindi department, should submit the text of his proposed talk before his travel clearance could be considered. When he refused to comply, the university denied him permission to attend the event.

The professor said that although he applied for leave over 35 days in advance via the university’s online portal, his application remained pending with the registrar for a month. When he followed up, he was informed the matter would be referred to the Union education ministry.

In a letter to Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh, Apoorvanand said he told the registrar that as per his knowledge, there was no rule that required government permission for a faculty member to be granted leave.

“He [registrar] agreed that he himself was not aware of a rule...

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