India: student group banned for staging a solidarity action
Event- Country
- India
- Initial Date
- Aug 19, 2024
- Event Description
About the Human Rights Defenders: Progressive Student Forum (PSF) is a student organisation based in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), it was established in 2016, build democratic and secular spaces that would enable critical engagement with the emerging socio-economic and political environment. The student body organised sessions, discussion and dialogues on various issue and different events such as talks, seminars, films, screenings, informal discussions between students. PSF intervene in various issues and concerns of students of TISS. Background: PSF organised a protest in solidarity against the suspension of PhD Scholar KS Ramdas over alleged ‘misconduct and anti-national activities’ at the Institute and they condemned dismissal of TISS faculty in July 2024. Details of the Incident: On August 19, 2024, the registrar of TISS administration issued a notice to ban PSF, calling the forum unauthorized and illegal forum. The notice claimed that the “PSF has been engaging in activities that obstruct the institute functions, defame the institute, demean members of our community, and create divisions among students and faculty.” The notice further states that “group is misleading, distracting and misguiding students from their academic pursuit and harmonious life in the campus”. The Notice imposed immediate ban on PSF for all institute premises and activities and ordered that “any student or faculty member found supporting, associating with or propagating the group’s divisive ideologies will be subject to disciplinary action”.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Other (e.g. undefined, organisation, community)
- Violation
- Administrative Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of association
- Freedom of expression
- Offline
- Right to Protest
- HRD
- Student
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
Case shared by FORUM-ASIA member People's Watch
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 19.07269703560622
Longitude: 72.86661036919958
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 19 August 2024, Progressive Student Forum (PSF), student organisation, was banned by the registrar of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) - where it is established - on false accusations, for organising a solidarity action with a fellow student in Mumbai, India.