Notice sent to SAU PhD student over Noam Chomsky's critique of PM; Sri Lankan scholar resigns
New Delhi: According to The Indian Express, a doctoral research proposal on the ethnography and politics of Kashmir, which referenced American linguist Noam Chomsky's criticism of the NDA government, has resulted in a show-cause notice for a PhD scholar and a disciplinary inquiry for his supervisor at South Asian University (SAU).
Days after the disciplinary inquiry was initiated, Sasanka Perera, a founding member of the Sociology department at SAU and a sociology professor, resigned from the varsity. The PhD scholar has since apologized to the university administration for any offense caused.
Perera, a cultural anthropologist with a Master's and a PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara, held several positions at SAU, including Chairman of the Department of Sociology, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and Vice President. Prior to joining SAU, he spent 20 years at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was the Founding Chairman of the Colombo Institute for Advanced Study of Society and Culture.
SAU has denied that the PhD proposal triggered Perera's resignation but did not clarify what was objectionable in the proposal. According to university rules, a PhD student must seek approval from the supervisor, the Dean, and/or the Department Board of Studies before commencing fieldwork. The proposal in question was forwarded to the Dean after being approved by the supervisor, but only after a show-cause notice dated May 9 was issued to the student.
The letter pointed out that the cited video was a private YouTube video from 2021, uploaded in 2022 by the scholar. In the video, Chomsky spoke critically about the Modi government. Explanations were requested from the student and the supervisor for selecting that particular topic. The student responded with an apology and took down the video on May 15. An inquiry committee was subsequently formed to investigate the role of the supervisor and the motive behind the proposal.
Amidst all this, Perera submitted his resignation from the university. SAU, which is sponsored by eight SAARC countries and under the Ministry of External Affairs, recently appointed K K Aggarwal as its president after the post had remained vacant for four years.
Responding to questions from The Indian Express, SAU stated that disciplinary action was taken based on the SAARC Intergovernmental Agreement, Rules, Regulations, and Bye-Laws. The inquiry is still pending.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms lash parts of Uttarakhand; all districts put on high alert
Dehradun (PTI): Heavy rain and hailstorms accompanied by strong winds lashed several districts of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning, prompting the state administration to put all district authorities on high alert.
The sudden change in weather caused uprooted trees to block roads and disrupted power supply at various locations.
Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman chaired a review meeting with district officials to assess the situation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light to moderate rain and thunderstorms at most places across all districts for Monday and Tuesday. Snowfall is expected in regions situated at altitudes of 4,000 metres and above.
An 'orange alert' remains in place for Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar. These districts are likely to witness isolated heavy rain, hailstorms, and intense to very intense spells of rain accompanied by gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph, the IMD said.
The weather office predicted that maximum temperatures across the state are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next three to four days. During the past 24 hours, maximum temperatures remained "markedly below normal" in the plains and ranged from "markedly" to "appreciably" below normal in the hilly regions.
Dehradun experienced dark, overcast skies early Sunday, creating night-like conditions during morning hours. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius, 5.3 degrees Celsius below the seasonal average.
For the state capital, the forecast predicts a partly to generally cloudy sky with a high of 31 degrees Celsius and a low of 19 degrees Celsius.
Significant rainfall was recorded across the state after 8.30 am on Sunday, with Jollygrant receiving 21.6 mm and Mohakampur recording 19.8 mm. Other areas, including Mukteshwar (15.0 mm), Mussoorie (13.4 mm), and Pithoragarh (8.5 mm), also saw measurable precipitation.
Secretary Suman directed officials to clear blocked roads on priority to ensure public convenience. Specific instructions were issued regarding the Char Dham Yatra, ordering that helicopter services must operate strictly according to weather conditions to ensure pilgrims' safety.
Isolated places in the remaining hilly districts are also expected to experience thunderstorms with lightning and intense rain spells.
