FEDCUTA stands in solidarity with Dr Prasad Pannian; demands withdrawal of his suspension orders
The FEDCUTA notes with concern and condemns the suspension of Dr Prasad Pannian from the post of head of the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the Central University of Kerala.
The suspension order served to Dr Pannian is shockingly for criticising the university on a Facebook post over the legal and police action initiated by the university against a vocal dalit research scholar. From the available reports it appears that the scholar, Mr Ganthoti Nagar Anju, participated in a student protest in the university and unintentionally broke the glass of a fire hydrant. Dr Pannian was protesting this precise act of criminalisation by the university and the police of this action of the student in the course of a democratic protest.
This attempt to criminalise protest and dissent as a whole by the university administration deserves widespread criticism. Recently we have seen this being done in the arrests of human rights activists across the country. Dr Pannian is an important scholar who in the context of his work on Edward Said brought out the role of dissent and democracy in shaping contemporary third world societies. It is most unfortunate and condemnable that his university administration instead of nurturing his sensibilities came down heavily on his defence of dissent and freedom to protest democratically.
The FEDCUTA sees the suspension of Dr Pannian as an attack on the constitutional right of freedom of expression.
We demand that the notorious CCS rules used for this purpose be immediately withdrawn. Notably Dr Pannian stood up for the democratic rights of his students.
The FEDCUTA demands an immediate revocation of the suspension order served on him as well as the withdrawal of the inquiry against him. The FEDCUTA also demands the withdrawal of all legal and police proceedings against the research scholar Mr Nagaraju who should be given full constitutional rights to pursue his research and activism.
Rajib Ray Sonajharia Minz
(President FEDCUTA) (Secretary FEDCUTA)
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