Indian universities’ silence on Modi degrees ‘shows climate of fear’

The refusal by two Indian universities to publicly produce degrees they issued to Narendra Modi, the prime minister, reveals an atmosphere of fear and growing political pressure in the country’s universities, academics say.

Mr Modi has been dogged by questions about his educational qualifications since he began his run for the premiership in the 2014 elections. But recent actions by institutions listed on his CV – the University of Delhi (DU) and Gujarat University – demonstrate that India’s government is exerting more pressure on its higher education sector, according to academics.

Mr Modi claims to have a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delhi, conferred in 1978, and a master’s degree from Gujarat University, dated 1983. While his political party has published copies of the documents, their validity continues to be questioned.

Last month, a Gujarat-based district court issued a summons to Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, who had recently raised questions about the veracity of Mr Modi’s qualifications. Mr Kejriwal said that statements made by the prime minister were “not backed by science”, adding that “an uneducated or less educated PM is dangerous for India”. There is no requirement for the prime minister to have a degree.

Gujarat University, a public institution based in Mr Modi’s home state, is now suing Mr Kejriwal for defamation.

Although the university had uploaded a copy of Mr Modi’s degree in a subject area titled “Entire Political Science” – not the name of any course offered by the university, some critics have pointed out – it has not responded to questions about the degree. In April, the regional high court quashed a directive by India’s Central Information Commission that would have required the university to furnish further proof of Mr Modi’s educational qualifications.

The ongoing questions in Gujarat comes just a few years after the University of Delhi, one of India’s most prestigious institutions, rejected a Right to Information request to authenticate Mr Modi’s undergraduate degree.

Ashok Swain, a professor at Sweden-based Uppsala University’s department of peace and conflict research and an alumnus of DU, said the refusals by both institutions demonstrated their fear of “performing their basic duty” as academic administrators.

“Instead of looking out for their institutions’ interest, they are protecting a political power. The only logic [behind their actions] is either their fear or that they owe their positions to the political power,” he said.

Professor Swain also worried that the controversy could affect how degrees issued by Indian institutions were perceived abroad. Such high-profile accusations of falsified degrees could make it harder for Indians who go overseas for employment or further education to have their qualifications validated by official agencies, he said.

Mukhtar Ahmad, a retired former professor at Aligarh Muslim University, said that while India’s central government previously took a more hands-off approach in governing universities, with little interference in their day-to-day functioning, that has changed in recent years.

Earlier this year, the University of Delhi took disciplinary action against two students for screening a BBC documentary about Mr Modi. Academics have also reported intimidation and harassment tactics being used against them for speaking out against government policies.

Professor Ahmad said the government’s growing encroachment on academia would have repercussions for the quality of education at Indian institutions.

“The result will not be immediately known; it takes time. So within a few years, it will be quite visible that the standard of education is going down in India,” he predicted. “When the atmosphere is not free, academia will automatically suffer.”

Times Higher Education approached the University of Delhi, Gujarat University and the Indian government for comment.

tiya.alexander@timeshighereducation.com