The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) has condemned the university’s action as “arbitrary” and “an attack on academic freedom”
NEW DELHI — Delhi University (DU) professor Apoorvanand Jha, who was to participate in an academic event at The New School in New York was denied permission to travel. Senior faculty member Apoorvanand claims that the university administration has advised him on Thursday to submit the text of his proposed lecture at an academic event in the United States for travel approval.
Prof Jha has reportedly called the move “unprecedented”, saying it undermines the university’s autonomy and academic freedom.
Apoorvanand, speaking to The New Indian Express said, he 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 scheduled to speak on the topic “The University under a global authoritarian turn” during the visit. The professor said not only was he not granted leave, but his application was sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for its approval.
“The university authorities told me my leave application was sent to the Ministry. Then they asked me to submit the text of my speech for approval. Now, both these things are complete violations,” Jha said.
“This is very alarming. We are losing the DU’s autonomy willingly. This is unprecedented as something like this has never happened before,” Jha said.
The professor said he had submitted his leave application more than 35 days in advance through the university’s online Samarth portal, but received a mail from the DU on April 2, which stated that the university was “unable to grant permission” and needed to seek advice from the Union Ministry of Education.
In a letter addressed to DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on April 15, Prof Jha wrote, “I fail to understand what made the university forgo the principle of institutional autonomy and invite intervention of an outside agency, in this case the Union government, in a matter of granting leave.”
In a written response to the registrar’s office, the professor noted that there is no rule requiring a government clearance for faculty travel or leave. “You said you were not aware of any specific rule under which the permission of the ministry is required. From our conversation, I concluded that the university is proactively, without any required law, rule or regulation, sending my leave application to the ministry,” Jha wrote in his response.
“You kindly suggested that I should share my talk to be given at the India China Institute of the New School, which could be attached with the file to make it easy for the ministry to take a decision. Does it mean that the content of my talk would now be vetted before permission for participation in an academic event be given?” he asked.
The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), in a letter, condemned the university’s action as “arbitrary” and “an attack on academic freedom”. The teachers’ body described the demand for speech vetting as “an act of censorship” and accused the administration of harming the institution’s autonomy.
It added that denying permission for such academic engagements damages the university’s global reputation and reflects a deeper erosion of institutional integrity.
Jha also took to social media to express his concern, posting on X: “Delhi Univ adm wants to vet and approve the text of my talk for the India China Institute, New School (New York) event and seek the advice of the government to decide about granting me leave. How should a teacher respond to a demand like this?” — With media inputs
