[This statement is issued in our individual capacities, and does not represent the institution’s opinion]

 

We, the undersigned, members of the faculty at IIT Bombay, are deeply concerned with the recent events that have undermined the autonomy of institutions of higher education in this country. We believe that these institutions are spaces of critical thinking and expression. Matters of contention that might arise in the conduct of intellectual and social engagements need to be addressed democratically and rationally. These methods in turn should be within the purview of institutional procedures that are responsible and accountable.

The state cannot dictate on the many meanings of what it is to be ‘Indian’ or mandate the meaning of ‘nationalism’. Rather, the state should be the one that makes sure that multiple ways of imagining one’s relationship with the nation are allowed to flourish especially when it might contradict dominant ways of thinking. In this context, we condemn the overreach of the state in the recent incidents in a number of institutions and the attempts of the Hindu Right to stifle dissent and suppress differences.

Signatories:

 

Abhijit Majumder, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Aftab Alam, Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay

S. Akshay, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Alka Hingorani, Associate Professor, Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay

Aliasgar Q. Contractor, Professor (retired), Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay

Amitabh Bhattacharya, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Amitabha Nandi, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay

A. Sanyal, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay.

UK Anandavardhanan, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay

Anil Kottantharayil, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Azizuddin Khan, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

A. Chatterjee, Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Bombay

Dayadeep Monder, Assistant Professor, Department of Energy Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Dibyendu Das, Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay

Dipankar, TREELabs, IIT-Bombay

Douglas Allen, Professor of Philosophy, University of Maine, USA, and Visiting Chair Professor in Gandhian Philosophy, IIT Bombay

Kushal Deb, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Madhu N. Belur, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Mukta Tripathy, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Mithun Kumar Mitra, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay

N.C. Narayanan, Professor, CTARA, IIT Bombay

Om Damani, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

D. Parthasarathy, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Paulomi Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Pradeepkumar P. I., Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay

Purushottam Kulkarni, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Raghunath Chelakkot, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay

M S Raghunathan, Distinguished Guest Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay

Priya Jadhav, Assistant Professor, Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas, IIT Bombay

Raja Mohanty, Professor, Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay

Ramesh Bairy T. S., Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Ratheesh Radhakrishnan, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Ravi N. Banavar, Professor, Systems and Control Engineering, IIT Bombay

C. D. Sebastian, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Sharmila Sreekumar, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Shishir Kumar Jha, Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay

Shrikrishna G. Dani, Distinguished Guest Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay

Siby K. George, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Siddhartha Chaudhuri, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Sriram Srinivasan, Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

Supratik Chakraborty, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay

V. S. Borkar, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Sudhir R. Ghorpade, Institute Chair Professor, Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay

Harish K Pillai, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

V. Sarma, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay

Anurag Mehra, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Ravi Raghunathan, Department of Mathematics, IIT Bombay

P Sunthar, Chemical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Kishore Chatterjee, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Bombay

Naresh K. Chandiramani, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Bombay