The South Asian University in Delhi has showcaused a research scholar and set up a disciplinary inquiry committee against his supervisor after the former cited famed professor and public intellectual Noam Chomsky's criticism of the Modi government in his research proposal, according to a report by Indian Express.
Soon after the notice was sent to the scholar, his PhD supervisor Sasanka Perera, who is a founding member of the university's sociology faculty, resigned from his post. The research was based on politics and ethnography on Kashmir.
The showcaused scholar, on the other hand, has issued an apology, but declined to comment on the events, IE reported.
Perera, who hails from Sri Lanka, also refused to comment on the action against said student as well as his resignation, the publication reported.
Perera completed his post-graduation and PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and was SAU's Chairman of the Department of Sociology (2011-2014), Vice President (2016-2019), as well as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences (2011-2018).
He taught at the University of Colombo for a couple of decades before joining SAU.
The university has acknowledged that an inquiry was held, but declined that Perera's resignation had anything to do with the showcause notice.
The university's guidelines for PhD candidates states that a scholar needs to take permission from their supervisor, the Dean, as well as the Department Board of Studies before commencing their fieldwork. The showcaused individual had also followed the process, with Perera granting him approval. However, he was later sent a show-cause notice by the university on May 9.
The sholar who is now under the radar, uploaded an interview of his with Chomsky on his own YouTube account, which he later quoted in his proposal.
In the video, the American intellectual says Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails from a "radical Hindutva tradition” and is making attempts “dismantle Indian secular democracy” and “impose Hindu technocracy”.
In the notice, the scholar as well as Perera were asked to explain the use of this material, following which the former had submitted a response and took down the video in question.
While responding to IE regarding the situation, the university revealed that inquiry is still under way and said notice was sent citing the SAARC Intergovernmental Agreement, Rules, Regulations, and Bye-Laws.
SAU is sponsored by eight SAARC member countries and is governed by the Ministry of External Affairs.