SAU expels 2 female students; rusticates 2

Earlier, on 13th January 2023, five students received show cause notices and were interrogated by an ad-hoc “high powered” committee for holding a protest demanding scholarship and stipend hike.

South Asian University has allegedly expelled two female students, rusticates two students and imposes a penalty on another. SAU student community has demanded the withdrawal of expulsions and rustication of these students.

According to students one of the students attempted suicide and later filed a police complaint against the university authorities. “It all began with Ammar collapsing. Today there are four expelled students, two rusticated and Ammar hasn’t yet recovered. The administration is going to build this university upon our tombs_” said Apoorva Y.K., who is one of the expelled students pursuing L.L.M at SAU.

According to the SAU Students General Body, the new wave of disciplinary actions is happening as the family of Ammar Ahmed, an MA Sociology student who attempted suicide due to institutional harassment goes ahead to file a police complaint against the university authorities.

“Ammar Ahmed was also arbitrarily rusticated by the University administration and suffered prolonged hospitalization and continues to have long-term complications including difficulty in mobility and speech. The expelled and rusticated students had advocated for Ammar during his hospitalization, and supported the family in their struggle for bringing justice to the student,” it said in a statement.

”Whatever has happened to us and whatever had happened to Ammar should all be viewed as cases of institutional violence and mental harassment,” said Prochetha M., expelled student who is an M.Phil Scholar.

While the court case against the undemocratic expulsion of the doctoral students, Bhimraj M and Umesh Joshi, is ongoing, the administration has issued two more expulsion notices to Prochetha M. (MPhil, Sociology) and Apoorva YK (LLM, Second year). Keshav Sawarn (M.A. Sociology, Second Year)and Rohit Kumar (PhD scholar, Economics) have received rustication letters, along with Bonna Chakraborty (M.A. Sociology, First Year) who has received a fine.

Earlier, on 13th January 2023, five students received show cause notices and were interrogated by an ad-hoc “high powered” committee. On 18th February, the students received emails from the proctor informing them of their expulsion and rustication. The association has alleged that without producing the necessary evidence, the students were declared expelled or rusticated. This is two months after the movement for scholarship and stipend hike had come to an end, and a month after the high-powered committee proceedings.

The General Body of Students, SAU has alleged that the SAU administration has consistently abused its power in order to stifle dissent. The administration went to the extent of heavily punishing the students with expulsions for supporting their friend who suffered from administrative apathy and harassment. This has taken a severe toll on the peaceful and democratic environment at the university. With four students expelled and two rusticated, the future of the international institution appears bleak.

Read More:

• IIT Kanpur unveils coal/mineral transportation with Cargo-based Hyperloop System
• India is an incredible market for foreign universities: Anis Qourzal, Baylor University