A senior professor at Meerut College has been banned for life from all examination and evaluation duties by Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) after a political science exam paper included a question deemed “objectionable” by members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its student wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The professor, Dr. Seema Panwar, who heads the Political Science department at the government-run college, was identified as the setter of the controversial second-semester exam held on April 2. The exam paper reportedly featured a question linking the RSS to the rise of religious and caste-based politics, and mentioned the organisation in the same line as Naxalites and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF).
“She has been debarred from all examinations and evaluation work in the university for life,” said Dhirendra Kumar Verma, registrar of CCSU. “An internal inquiry confirmed her authorship of the question paper.”
The action was taken within hours of a campus protest by ABVP members on April 5. The group submitted a memorandum to the registrar, demanding immediate punishment and accusing Panwar of maligning a “patriotic organisation.”
According to officials, Panwar submitted a written apology, stating she did not intend to offend anyone. “She has apologised in writing that she did not do this intentionally to hurt anyone,” Verma told the news agency PTI.
However, academics and civil rights groups are raising serious concerns about the decision, calling it an assault on academic freedom.
“Banning a professor for a question on political organisations undermines critical thinking in classrooms,” said Dr. Ritu Maheshwari, a retired professor from Delhi. “It signals that political discourse is no longer safe in educational spaces.”
The incident adds to growing anxiety among scholars about shrinking space for dissent and critical engagement in Indian universities, particularly on topics involving Hindutva organisations.
While ABVP celebrated the university’s action as a “victory for nationalism,” others are calling for Panwar’s reinstatement and an independent review of the university’s disciplinary decision.
Meanwhile, CCSU has not made the full contents of the exam question public.
