It is dangerous to speak up in India today: Time magazine report

It Is Dangerous To Speak Up In India Today is the headline of a story in Time magazine which talks about what the resignations of 2 academics show about freedom of expression under the Narendra Modi governmentTwo prominent academics stepped down from their positions at one of Indias most respected universities this week shining a spotlight on the state of academic freedom and a widening crackdown on dissent under the Hindu nationalist ruling party the Time magazine report saidPratap Bhanu Mehta resigned from his position as a Professor of Political Science at Ashoka University near Delhi on Monday In his letter of resignation reproduced online Thursday Mehta suggested that he had been forced to step down because of indirect pressure by the Indian government the report saidArvind Subramanian an Economics Professor at Ashoka who once served as Chief Economic Adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi also resigned from his position on Thursday in solidarity with Mehta calling his treatment an affront to academic expression and freedomThe report said the resignations are the latest example of what observers say is a tightening of academic freedoms and dissent more broadly driven by the ruling Hindu nationalist BJPIn 2020 the US NGO Freedom House down ranked Indias academic freedom score from three to two out of a possible four due to rising intimidation in recent years that is aimed at controlling academic discussion of politically sensitive topicsIn his resignation letter Mehta suggested that he had been forced to step down because of indirect pressure on Ashoka University from the Indian government After a meeting with the universitys Founders it has become abundantly clear to me that my association with the university may be considered a political liability he wrote My public writing in support of a politics that tries to honour constitutional values of freedom and equal respect for all citizens is perceived to carry risks for the university In the interests of the university I resignThe founders of Ashoka a privatelyfunded university established in 2014 as Indias answer to the Ivy League had told Mehta in a meeting that his criticism of the Indian government was threatening the planned expansion of the university according to an Ashoka employee with knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity out of concern for their job the report saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever