What the sidelining of a Delhi University professor says about India’s attacks on academic freedom

In Antonio Gramsci’s seminal works on how the ruling class maintains its dominance, the Italian philosopher noted that hegemony operates more through indirect means rather than direct ones. Exerting control through cultural and intellectual spaces is a convenient and effective way of doing so.

Universities are precisely such spaces. As places where knowledge is produced, universities play a central role in shaping public discourses. They determine which ideologies gain legitimacy in society – and which do not.

If academic leadership is based not on merit, institutional traditions or regulations but rather on ideological conformity or passivity, appointments do not remain merely administrative decisions. Instead, they should be considered part of a broader strategy to establish ideological control or hegemony over intellectual centres.

The recent appointment of the head of the Hindi department at the University of Delhi has raised serious concerns. Despite the long-standing tradition of seniority in appointing department heads, this time, the most senior member of the Hindi department, Professor Apoorvanand, was deliberately sidelined.

This should not be seen as a personal issue for any individual nor as a criticism of the person who has been appointed. Instead, it is a matter linked to the broader structural and ideological changes within India’s academic institutions.

Over the past ten...

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