DU 'advises' professor to submit speech text for US travel permission

New Delhi: Delhi University professor Apoorvanand Jha has alleged that the university administration advised him to submit the text of his proposed lecture for an academic event in the United States as a condition for travel approval. Jha described this move as "unprecedented", arguing that it undermines the university's autonomy and academic freedom. The DU administration has not yet responded to these claims.

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

Talking to PTI, Jha said, “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 revealed that he had submitted his leave application over 35 days in advance via the university's Samarth portal. However, on April 2, he received an email stating that the university was "unable to grant permission" and would need to consult the Union Ministry of Education.

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

In a written response to the registrar’s office, the professor noted that there is no rule requiring a government clearance for faculty travel or leave. “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.”

“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 Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), in a letter, condemned the university’s action as “arbitrary” and “an attack on academic freedom”. The teachers’ body described the demand for speech vetting as “an act of censorship” and accused the administration of harming the institution’s autonomy.

It added that denying permission for such academic engagements damages the university’s global reputation and reflects a deeper erosion of institutional integrity.

Jha also took to social media to express his concern, posting on X: “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?”

(inputs from PTI)