‘Submit before you speak’: DU professor asked to share lecture for US travel approval

Delhi University professor Apoorvanand Jha has alleged that the university administration asked him to submit the text of a lecture he plans to deliver at an upcoming academic event in the United States as part of the process to approve his travel.

Describing the request as "unprecedented," Jha said it poses a serious threat to academic freedom and the university’s autonomy.

A faculty member in the Hindi department, he has been invited to speak at a seminar titled "The University Under a Global Authoritarian Turn" at The New School in New York as part of the India China Institute’s 20th anniversary celebrations, scheduled from April 23 to May 1.

The DU administration has not issued any official response.

"I received a mail from the registrar's office asking me to submit the text of my speech for approval. In my view, this is very alarming. We are losing the DU's autonomy willingly. This is unprecedented as something like this has never happened before,” Jha said.

According to the professor, he applied for leave more than 35 days in advance via the university's online Samarth portal.

However, on April 2, he received a letter from the DU declaring that the university was "unable to grant permission" and that he needed to consult the Union Ministry of Education.

In a letter addressed to DU Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh on April 15, Jha wrote, “I fail to understand what made the university forgo the principle of institutional autonomy and invite intervention of an outside agency, in this case the Union government, in a matter of granting leave.”

The professor responded in writing to the registrar's office, pointing out that faculty travel and leave are not subject to any regulations requiring government approval.

"You said you were not aware of any specific rule under which the permission of the ministry is required. From our conversation, I concluded that the university is proactively, without any required law, rule, or regulation, sending my leave application to the ministry," Jha wrote.

"You kindly suggested that I should share my talk to be given at the India China Institute of the New School, which could be attached with the file to make it easy for the ministry to take a decision. Does it mean that the content of my talk would now be vetted before permission for participation in an academic event be given?" he asked.

The university's move was denounced as "arbitrary" and "an attack on academic freedom" in a letter from the Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF).

The educators' organization called the requirement for speech screening "an act of censorship" and charged the administration with undermining the institution's independence.

It further said that refusing authorization for these kinds of scholarly activities harms the university's standing internationally and is indicative of a more serious breakdown in institutional integrity.

"Delhi Univ adm wants to vet and approve the text of my talk for the India China Institute, New School (New York) event and seek the advice of the government to decide about granting me leave. How should a teacher respond to a demand like this?" Jha wrote on X.