Students of Ambedkar University Delhi’s Kashmere Gate campus gathered in large numbers on 8 April 2025 to express strong and unwavering solidarity with Professor Kaustav Banerjee of the School of Global Affairs, following arbitrary disciplinary action taken against him by the university administration.
Professor Kaustav has been served a show-cause notice by the administration for addressing students at a recent public gathering organised by the AISA. During the event, he spoke out against the suspension of students from his department — including the unjust disciplinary action against Comrade Mantasha — and lent his voice to the growing opposition to administrative high-handedness on campus.
The notice, issued nearly a week after the event, has drawn widespread criticism from students and progressive sections within the university. Activists have pointed out that the notice comes despite the revocation of Mantasha’s suspension, suggesting a deeper and more troubling intent: to intimidate and silence voices critical of the administration’s increasingly draconian functioning.
AISA, which organised the public meeting and has been at the forefront of resistance on campus, issued a sharp condemnation of the university’s actions. “We demand the immediate withdrawal of the show-cause notice against Professor Banerjee,” the AISA declared in a statement. “All forms of administrative intimidation and disciplinary measures aimed at silencing dissent must be halted. These actions represent a broader attempt to crush progressive voices that have long upheld the democratic ethos of AUD.”
The meeting also raised concerns about the ongoing police barricading of the Kashmere Gate campus, which students say has transformed the university into a fortress and curtailed free movement and access for the student community. The students called for the removal of excessive security measures and the restoration of the campus as an open, accessible, and democratic space.
