TISS students unite against CUET, call policies authoritarian

TISS students are also challenging the institute’s indirect ban on organising events within the campus. File pic

Describing recent policy decisions and academic alterations at the esteemed Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) as draconian, exclusionary, and authoritarian, students assert that these changes align with the Union government's purported endeavour to ‘saffronise' admissions and academics. In response, student unions are gearing up to protest.

All student organisations at TISS Mumbai, with the exception of the Democratic Secular Students' Forum, have united in opposition to CUET (Common University Entrance Test), advocating against restrictions that impede financially disadvantaged students' access to classes. Furthermore, they are challenging the institute's indirect ban on organising events within the campus.

"All student groups, organizations have come together for this cause, except DSSF, which is a masked form of ABVP. Our demands are roll back CUET, eelink fee payment and semester registration and remove scrutiny of student-led academic events. We are challenging all these decisions. The institute's indirect ban on organising events, seemingly driven by concerns that students might criticise the Narendra Modi government, is wrong," said one of the student part of these groups.

Calling the protest their defence to safeguard the unique identity of TISS, the TISS Students' Union, Adivasi Students' Forum (ASF), Ambedkarite Students Association (ASA), Fraternity, Muslim Students Forum (MSF), Northeast Students Forum (NESF), Progressive Students Forum (PSF), and Students Federations of Dravidians (SFD) on Sunday issued a statement.

In their joint statement, the student unions stated that following the Union government's ruling, the administration's unilateral imposition of CUET disregards student concerns. This decision erodes TISS's distinguished status in social sciences, reflecting a distressing shift, it read.

Ramadas Prini Sivanandan, a research scholar in development studies at TISS who is also a Central Executive Committee Member and the Maharashtra state joint secretary of the Students Federation of India, said, "This is an announcement as a result of a joint meeting of all organisations' leadership. We are approaching the administration again this week to see how they respond. Other forms of protest and our next move will be announced in the coming days as the next step."