The revised Honour Code at TISS, which students are required to sign, starting from this academic year, prohibits their involvement in any political discussions, protests, or demonstrations that are deemed “unpatriotic” or “anti-establishment.”
Violations of these codes can further result in severe consequences, including the termination of a student’s enrollment.
At the beginning of the new academic year in August, students were required to sign and submit an undertaking stating their commitment to abide by all the regulations outlined in the revised Honour Code.
According to a report by Money Control, TISS students are demanding that the institute either remove this clause or provide clear definitions of the terms used in the Honour Code.
The undertaking, which every TISS student is expected to sign, states, “I will not engage in any political, anti-establishment, unpatriotic discussions, protests, demonstrations, or any activities that disrupt the academic environment of the institute. I understand that any violations will result in strict actions against me.”
The revised code also includes the possibility of withdrawal and termination of a student’s admission if they fail to comply with these regulations.
It is worth noting that last month, TISS imposed a ban on the Progressive Students’ Forum (PSF), a student outfit.
Faculty members argue that instructions like these are damaging to TISS’s identity as a social science institute, which encourages questioning society and studying current events.
“It is wrong to suppress voices in any institution of higher learning and detrimental to impose such restrictions on a social science institute,” a faculty member was quoted as saying in a report by The Indian Express.
However others added that it lacks a clear definition of what is “unpatriotic” or “anti-establishment”.
Recently, TISS Mumbai banned the Progressive Students’ Forum, a left-leaning student group active on campus.
In April, a PhD scholar from TISS, who was also a member of the PSF, was suspended for two years due to repeated misconduct and alleged anti-national activities.
According to Narendra Mishra, the institute’s registrar, the honor code revision is a standard operating procedure. Not only the student honor code but also other publications like student handbooks and the institute’s prospectus are routinely updated.
He added, “Students have already accepted and turned in the undertakings. There’s no reason why anyone should object to these instructions, unless their goal is to engage in them ??
