Universities nurture our youth and need to be free open spaces that encourage critical thinking. Intimidation and other kinds of pressure on the academic community does not augur well for our democracy
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Research involves the ability to think freely – essential to this process are any ‘freedoms’. Freedom to interrogate the established body of knowledge, freedom to choose a line of enquiry, freedom to critique, freedom to be non-conformist and yet not be alienated from society, freedom to collaborate… and so on. I have but enumerated a few freedoms; surely there are other ‘freedoms’.
But these, to my mind, are the most critical aspects of research and thus, most feared by political establishments. Research of this nature can only take place within the space of a university – a space, where ideally, inquisitiveness, and non-conformism could be a badge of honour.
[This article has been published with permission from IIM Bangalore. www.iimb.ac.in Views expressed are personal.]