Feb 13 2015 : Mirror (Mumbai)
Arun Ferreira writes to TISS claiming cops meddled to have his reading cancelled
MMB
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Institute director denies conspiracy theory, says students didn't book venue in advance
Civil rights activist Arun Ferreira has al leged the police interfered to have his book reading, scheduled for Wednes day at the Tata Institute of Social Sci ences (TISS) deferred indefinitely. He was due to recite excerpts from his work, “Colours of the Cage“, which describes his four and a half years in prison, awaiting trial in 11 cases of Naxalism and sedition. Ferreira was acquitted of these charges in 2014.On Thursday, Ferreira addressed a caustic letter to Prof S Parsuraman, the Director of TISS, asking him to institute an inquiry into the incident and ensure that it is not repeated.
Campus authorities denied the police interceded and maintained that the event had been called off because permission had not been sought in advance. “The book reading had to be cancelled because the Students' Union had failed to book the venue in advance,“ said Parsuraman.
According to Ferreira, he received 30 minutes' notice that the reading had been called off.“I was on my way there when I got a call and was told it was to be indefinitely postponed,“ said Ferreira. “When I reached the campus, students revealed to me that intelligence department officers, either from the Intelligence Bureau or the state intelligence department, had pressured them into cancelling the talk.“
The activist charged that the authorities were meddling in the affairs of an educational institution. “How can the police interfere this way?
Will they tomorrow decide the syllabus for all the courses in addition to deciding who can talk and who can't?“ he fumed, adding that he had delivered lectures in universities across the country without facing harassment in the past.
A representative of the Union confirmed that the event had been rescheduled to March but refused to comment on the reason behind the abrupt change in plan. A section of students alleged that three intelligence officers visited the campus on Wednesday and demanded that the talk be cancelled.
Others bemoaned what they described was the suppression of thought. “This is not the first time that the college has tried to stifle free speech in the case of controversial political topics. If the campus security or the police are allowed to block programmes then what is the meaning of freedom of speech in an academic space?“ a research scholar said.
Another student added, “All political lectures on TISS are monitored by the police and campus security. Previously, when we had invited speakers like Telugu poet Varavara Rao to deliver a talk in the campus, the venue was swarmed by plainclothes policemen who videotaped the proceedings and kept a watch on all the students attending.“
Ferreira, who has been employed by TISS as a research scholar in the past, had delivered a talk on campus in 2012 he spoke of his “torture in jail“ when he was a “political prisoner“. TISS alumni who had organised that lecture alleged that the police visited the campus on that occasion as well.
The Trombay police, who hold jurisdiction over the TISS campus, denied they had anything to do with the talk being rescheduled. “It was the college's internal decision to call off the lecture as the students did not have prior permission,“ said senior police inspector Ansar Pirjade.
Campus authorities denied the police interceded and maintained that the event had been called off because permission had not been sought in advance. “The book reading had to be cancelled because the Students' Union had failed to book the venue in advance,“ said Parsuraman.
According to Ferreira, he received 30 minutes' notice that the reading had been called off.“I was on my way there when I got a call and was told it was to be indefinitely postponed,“ said Ferreira. “When I reached the campus, students revealed to me that intelligence department officers, either from the Intelligence Bureau or the state intelligence department, had pressured them into cancelling the talk.“
The activist charged that the authorities were meddling in the affairs of an educational institution. “How can the police interfere this way?
Will they tomorrow decide the syllabus for all the courses in addition to deciding who can talk and who can't?“ he fumed, adding that he had delivered lectures in universities across the country without facing harassment in the past.
A representative of the Union confirmed that the event had been rescheduled to March but refused to comment on the reason behind the abrupt change in plan. A section of students alleged that three intelligence officers visited the campus on Wednesday and demanded that the talk be cancelled.
Others bemoaned what they described was the suppression of thought. “This is not the first time that the college has tried to stifle free speech in the case of controversial political topics. If the campus security or the police are allowed to block programmes then what is the meaning of freedom of speech in an academic space?“ a research scholar said.
Another student added, “All political lectures on TISS are monitored by the police and campus security. Previously, when we had invited speakers like Telugu poet Varavara Rao to deliver a talk in the campus, the venue was swarmed by plainclothes policemen who videotaped the proceedings and kept a watch on all the students attending.“
Ferreira, who has been employed by TISS as a research scholar in the past, had delivered a talk on campus in 2012 he spoke of his “torture in jail“ when he was a “political prisoner“. TISS alumni who had organised that lecture alleged that the police visited the campus on that occasion as well.
The Trombay police, who hold jurisdiction over the TISS campus, denied they had anything to do with the talk being rescheduled. “It was the college's internal decision to call off the lecture as the students did not have prior permission,“ said senior police inspector Ansar Pirjade.
