An Indian academic who resigned over a state-led order calling for PhD students to focus only on ¡°national priorities¡± has claimed that such interference will be ¡°suicidal¡± for research in the country.

Meena Pillai quit the board of studies of Central University of Kerala after it departments to admit PhD candidates only if?they chose topics ¡°in accordance with the national priorities¡± and?also warned against pursuing ¡°irrelevant¡± research. In addition, doctoral candidates would be required to select from a ¡°shelf of project[s]¡­considering national priorities¡± that had been compiled by departments, the says.

The university¡¯s advice was prompted by a circular sent by India¡¯s Ministry of Human Resource Development on 13?March.?CUK is the first institution to respond to the new guidance, which follows moves to ban academics at some of India¡¯s central universities from criticising the government.

Professor Pillai¡¯s intervention has been dismissed by the university as a ¡°political stunt¡± associated with upcoming state elections, but several leading politicians have backed her stance. India¡¯s opposition party leader, Rahul Gandhi ¨C heir to the country¡¯s most revered political dynasty, used her resignation to accuse the administration of Narendra Modi of ¡°tell[ing] the intellectuals of the country how they should do their work¡±.

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Speaking to Times Higher Education, Professor Pillai, who is director of the University of Kerala¡¯s Centre for Cultural Studies, said she had stepped down because it was ¡°extremely problematic¡± to involve ¡°jingoistic nationalism¡± in university research.

¡°This is a country where you can be branded anti-national because of the food you eat given the attitudes towards beef, so making nationalism part of research is a very dangerous precedent,¡± she said.

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Professor Pillai also objected to plans to discourage ¡°irrelevant research¡±. ¡°In a country with different languages and different religions, who decides what is irrelevant?¡± she asked.

¡°Focusing on the dialect of a small, remote tribal community could be deemed irrelevant by a large proportion of people, but might yield very valuable insights with wider applications.¡±

The apparent plan to make PhD students choose from a list of topics supplied by departments would ¡°restrict freedom and choice¡±, Professor Pillai added.

¡°These rules will be suicidal for India¡¯s research, where we need freedom to critique ideas and ask difficult questions ¨C it must not become part of a political system,¡± she continued.

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Professor Pillai said she was surprised but heartened by the reaction to her resignation, which has also prompted Kerala¡¯s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, to voice his concern.

¡°I am a single woman fighting alone, and I?thought this might not matter [to others], but people have taken notice and begun to debate this issue,¡± she said.

Asked if it was a ¡°political stunt¡± linked to forthcoming elections, Professor Pillai replied: ¡°If standing up for free speech is political, then I?am political.¡±

However, G.?Gopa Kumar, CUK¡¯s vice-chancellor, claimed that there were ¡°no?limits for research works¡± and that the government¡¯s circular was issued to ensure that researchers did not?pursue outdated topics.

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¡°The usage of ¡®national priority¡¯ in the circular means those topics that would benefit the economic, social and technological advancement of the nation and society,¡± he said.

The vice-chancellor added: ¡°It?is sad to note that some of the media distorted and manipulated these points without understanding the reality.¡±

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com