Former PM urges universities to guard their freedoms

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh last week warned academics against the threat posed to independent thinking and free expression at Indian universities and urged authorities to zealously guard their autonomy as well as students' right to express dissent, reports The Times of India.

Speaking at the 200th founder's day programme of Presidency University, Singh said every university must give its students the freedom to pursue knowledge, even where that knowledge may be at odds with established intellectual and social traditions.

"Political interference in university curriculum and academic appointment is highly short-sighted. Recent attempts to interfere with free expression of the student community in Hyderabad Central University and Jawaharlal Nehru University are of particular concern. Attempts to suppress peaceful dissent are not only inimical to learning, they are also undemocratic. We must make every effort to protect the autonomy of our universities," Singh told the audience that included five vice-chancellors of universities in Bengal.
Full report on The Times of India site