The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) stands in solidarity with Ramdas Prini Sivanandan, a dalit Ph. D research scholar in the Development Studies department of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. Ramdas Prini was illegally suspended from the TISS in April last year for participating in the national rally against the implementation of the disastrous National Education Policy, 2020, as part of the contingent from Progressive Students Forum, of which he has been the general secretary. The suspension order accused him of indulging in ‘political activities’ and being ‘anti-national’ because he took part in a protest rally against the Central government. It also stated that his acts of protest against the government and administration are seen as a ‘repetitive misconduct’ for which he is being suspended for two years. In fact, the suspension is a repressive tactic by the TISS as a warning to other students in order to stop them from protesting against the anti-student policies of BJP-RSS government and its stooge, the TISS administration.
The order was utterly unconstitutional as it attacked Sivadasan’s democratic right to protest against the unjust policies of the government. Ramdas Prini Sivanandan challenged the suspension in the Bombay High Court, which unfortunately dismissed his petition on 12 March 2025. The Court explicitly sided with the illegal actions of TISS, and this rejection will embolden other Universities to curtail the rights of teachers and students to protest their illegal actions. He now plans to approach the Supreme Court to assert the right to protest against NEP, saffronisation of education and unemployment. As Sivadasan said after the rejection of his petition, “Study and Struggle will continue until everybody has access to education and employment.”
The AIDWA expresses its solidarity with all the students who are struggling against the NEP and illegal actions of BJP-RSS appointed heads of educational institutions. It lauds the courage of Ramdas Prini Sivanandan to carry out the fight despite the personal victimization he has faced over the last few years. The AIDWA wholeheartedly supports the March to Parliament of the United Students on 24 March 2025.
