The South Asian University recently terminated an associate professor, two years after he was suspended for “inciting students” during the 2022–23 stipend protest. National media reports that Snehashish Bhattacharya was among four faculty members suspended by SAU in 2023 for “inciting students against… the interest of the university.”
Out of these four faculty members, two wrote a “submission of regret” to the administration in March 2024, resulting in SAU revoking their suspension. The third one, hired on a contractual basis, reportedly left the university after his contract ended, while the fourth one, Bhattacharya, remained suspended.
Swati Arjun, the deputy director at SAU, told national media that “the decision of the termination of Dr. Snehashish Bhattacharya has been taken in accordance with regulation 38.5 of the South Asian University after the report of the disciplinary committee.”
Course of Events
Bhattacharya was suspended on June 16, 2023, after a student protest broke out within the SAU campus in 2022. The protest was regarding the slashing of the stipend for master’s students from ₹5,000 to ₹3,000. The students demanded the stipend be raised to ₹7,000 instead.
The administration restored the amount to ₹5,000, but still, the protest continued and in October 2022, police were called to the Chanakyapuri campus to disperse students gathered outside the acting president’s office. The very next day, 13 faculty members, including Bhattacharya, wrote to the administration, warning that calling police inside the campus might damage the university’s international character. Meanwhile, the university also expelled several students for their involvement in the protest.
On November 5, 15 faculty members wrote another letter to the administration, expressing concerns over the actions of the university administration, which, according to them, were not taken with due process.
Later, a disciplinary committee was constituted in November 2023, laying out 52 charges against Bhattacharya in its report. In the report, he was accused of allegedly making “wild and unsubstantial allegations,” describing the administration’s decision to call the police as “most unfortunate… contingent impulses.” Alongside, he was also charged with allegations of inciting students by writing that the administration and the police were “sending mass emails to the entire teaching, non-teaching and student communities—clear evidence of incitement. The charge, therefore, stands proved… a case of concealment of facts,” stated the disciplinary committee that faulted Bhattacharya for describing the expulsion as arbitrary and for warning that such actions could have negative repercussions for the future of the university.
On August 18 this year, the university issued a show cause notice to Bhattacharya which stated, “In view of the disciplinary committee constituted to enquire into the charges against you, you are hereby asked to show cause in writing within a fortnight from the receipt of this notice as to why your service at SAU will not be terminated with immediate effect.”
It is learnt that Bhattacharya replied within a fortnight, but the administration found no substance in his reply and terminated his service with effect from June 16, 2023.
Who is Bhattacharya?
The assistant professor holds a PhD in Economics and a master’s in Economics from the University of Notre Dame, USA, along with an MSc in Economics from the University of Calcutta. He joined South Asian University in 2011 and taught his first batch of Economics students in the same year. The South Asian University was established by eight member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and envisioned as a regional hub for higher education and cooperation.