Presidency University bicentenary: Independent thinking, free expression in varsities under threat, says Manmohan Singh

In his address at the event to mark Founder’s Day, Singh said, “Regrettably, independent thinking and free expression in Indian universities are now under threat.”

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In a veiled attack on the Narendra Modi-led government, he said, “Recent attempts to interfere with free expression of the student community at Hyderabad Central University and Jawaharlal Nehru University are of particular concern. Attempts to suppress peaceful dissent are not only inimical to learning but also undemocratic.”

Pointing to the rise of neo-nationalist tendencies across the world, Singh said that the “extremely dangerous” tendencies responded to “populism and directing hatred against backward classes and minorities”.

In such a situation, “We must protect India from this trend and universities have a vital role in this regard.”

“I believe that every university must give the freedom to pursue knowledge even where the knowledge may be at odds with established intellectual and social traditions. We must guard this freedom very zealously,” he said.

The former prime minister’s speech was brief. But at the end of it, the question that Manmohan Singh had posed —- on the role of a university in a space where dissent is not tolerated —- found resonance across the campus.

A massive banner declaring Presidency University to be the institution that has asked “inspiring, life-changing questions since 1817” dominated the varsity.

The advertisements argued that this culture of asking questions had produced “3 presidents, 1 Prime Minister, 1 Nobel laureate, 1 Oscar Winner, 1 explorer, 7 inventors”.

Banners reiterating the questions asked by these Presidency alumni —- Aparna Sen, Amartya Sen, Satyajit Ray, J C Bose, Nabaneeta Deb Sen, P C Mahalanobis, Ashutosh Mukherjee, Subhash Chandra Bose, Satyendranatha Bose, Pramathesh Barua, Prafulla Chandra Roy, Meghnad Saha, Rajendra Prasad —- were displayed across the campus.
The questions asked ranged from Ray’s “Can Indian cinema touch the world?” to Prasad’s “What is the future of a fledgling nation?”