Support for Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey gains momentum among BHU students, country’s academicians and civil society

The campaign by IIT BHU and BHU students in support of Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey and against the premature termination of his contract by IIT BHU has gained momentum. 1,500 students of IIT BHU signed a petition and gave it to the Dean of academic affairs, IIT BHU on 8th January. Now several professors from IIT BHU and other premier institutes in the country have come out in support of Dr. Pandey.

Students are demanding reinstatement of Dr. Pandey. In their petition, the students have sought the reason behind Dr. Pandey’s termination and the process followed by the Board of Governors of IIT BHU. Subsequently, in a meeting with the Director, the students raised concern that the autonomy of IIT BHU is under threat as the quorum in the Board meeting at the time of taking the termination decision was not complete and the decision was against the opinion of the Director. Only four of the nine Board members were present in the meeting when this decision was forced by the BHU's VC on the IIT BHU Director. None of the Board members were informed in advance that this issue would be discussed in the meeting. The students have asked the Director whether he had established the validity of the allegations put against Prof. Pandey before arriving at such a crucial decision. So far there has been no response from the Director. Meanwhile many students are holding peaceful demonstrations every day in front of Director's office.

Besides students’ agitation in IIT BHU campus, several people’s organizations such as Rihai Manch, Khudai Khidmatgar, Humsafar - Support Centre for Women, Socialist Mazdoor Sangathan, Sangatin, Sanatkada, Health Watch Forum, Yuva Tarang, Asha Parivar, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Socialist Party (India), Dynamic Action Group, Yuva Shakti Sangathan, Sangatin Mahila Mazdoor Sangathan and Students Islamic Organisation have held sit-in demonstrations and peace march in support of Dr. Pandey in the cities of Varanasi, Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Unnao, Kannauj and Mau. They said that Dr. Pandey’s termination by IIT BHU in adhoc and undemocratic manner is a part of the disturbing trend of intolerance against diverse views under present BJP government. It shows government’s inclination towards communalization of education and restriction of space for free expressions in India’s academic institutions. Two newly elected Gram Pradhans from Sitapur also came in support at the demonstration in Lucknow. In Hardoi a memorandum was given to Smt. Smriti Irani, Minister of HRD, through the District Magistrate (DM) on 10th January. In Kannauj a petition was sent to the President of India through Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) on 12th January demanding enquiry into the charges levelled against Dr. Pandey and, if the charges are found false, Dr. Pandey’s reinstatement and the VC’s expulsion.

In addition, an online petition (www.bit.ly/Justice-Dr-Pandey) and campaign is going on in support of Dr. Pandey. About 900 people from different parts of India have signed the online petition. It has been endorsed by 3 Members of Parliament (MPs), several academicians from premier national institutes and universities, and eminent citizens and social activists. The petition requests the President of India in the capacity of ‘The Visitor’ at IIT BHU to set up an impartial enquiry into the premature termination of Dr. Pandey’s contract and into the baseless charges of being ‘anti-national’ levelled by the VC without establishing any proof or conducting any investigation or due process. A letter has been written by Shri Ali Anwar (M.P. Rajya Sabha) to the President Shri Pranab Mukherjee, seeking appointment for himself, Shri Dharamveer Gandhi (M.P. Lok Sabha), Shri Harivansh (M.P. Rajya Sabha) and Justice (Retd.) Rajinder Sachar, in order to hand over the petition and personally apprise him of the situation leading to termination of Dr. Pandey’s contract in the context of baseless charges. Simultaneously, the students of IIT BHU have also sought President’s appointment for submitting their petition and seeking an enquiry and Dr. Pandey’s reinstatement.

While signing the petition many people have expressed their faith in Dr. Pandey’s Gandhian and socialist values, high academic credentials, commitment to social service, and popularity among the students. Several students of IIT BHU have emphasized that Dr. Pandey not only taught them the technical subject matter but also inspired them through his own conduct to inculcate moral values and become committed to solving the problems of underprivileged sections of society.

Prominent endorsers of the online petition are:

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT:
Dharamveer Gandhi, M.P. Lok Sabha
Ali Anwar, M.P. Rajya Sabha
Harivansh, M.P. Rajya Sabha

ACADEMICIANS:
Dr. A K Mukherjee, Dean of Student Affairs and Professor, Dept. of Chemistry, IIT BHU, Varanasi
Dr. R K Mandal, Professor & Head - Dept of Metallurgical Engineering, IIT-BHU, Varanasi
Prof. Anand Kumar, former Professor of Sociology, JNU
Prof. Dr Amita Baviskar, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi
Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Former Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University
Prof. Amit Bhaduri - Professor (Of' Clear fame) at Pavia University Italy and CSD New Delhi
Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy - Delhi University
Prof. Nadini Sunder - Delhi University
Dr. Achin Vanaik (Retired Professor and Former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Delhi)
Dr. Raja Mohanty, Professor, Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Shishir Jha, Professor, School of Management, IIT Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Naresh K. Chandiramani, Professor, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Supratik Chakraborty, Professor, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Om Damani, Professor, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Dipankar, Visiting Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Bombay, Mumbai
Dr. Deepak Gupta, Professor, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, IIT Kanpur, Kanpur
Dr. Rahul Varman, Professor and Head, Dept. of Industrial Management and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur
Dr. Suchitra Mathur, Faculty, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur
Dr. Manmohan Pandey, Professor, Dept of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Guwahati
Dr. Sumeet Agarwal, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, IIT Delhi
Dr. Suresh Devasahayam, Professor of Bioengineering, Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore
Dr. Vidyanand Jha, Professor, Behavioural Sciences, IIM Calcutta, Kolkata
Dr. Rohit Varman, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) - Calcutta, Kolkata
Dr. Shiva Shankar, Professor at Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai
Dr. Venu Madhav Govindu, Faculty, Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru
Dr. Himanshu Pandey, Associate Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Dr. Dipa Sinha, Assistant Professor, Ambedkar University Delhi
Dr. Meghna Pansare - Assistant Professor - Shivaji University
Dr. Meher Engineer, West Bengal, Chairperson, AIFRTE; Ex-President, Indian Academy of Social Science; Kolkata
Prof. Wasi Ahmed, Bihar, Former Joint Secretary, AIFUCTO; Patna
Sri Prabhakar Arade, Maharashtra, President, AIFETO; Kolhapur
Prof. G. Haragopal, Andhra Pradesh, National Fellow, ICSSR; TISS, Hyderabad
Prof. Madhu Prasad, Delhi, formerly Dept. of Philosophy, Zakir Husain College, Delhi University
Prof. K. Chakradhar Rao, Telengana, Dept. of Economics, Osmania University, Hyderabad
Prof. K. M. Shrimali, Delhi, Formerly Dept. of History, Delhi University
Dr. Anand Teltumbde, West Bengal, Professor of Management, IIT, Kharagpur
Pamela Philipose, Senior Fellow, Indian Council of Social Science Research
Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy, Nuclear Physicist, Lahore
Dr. Zia Mian, Physicist and Nuclear Policy Expert, Princeton University, USA
Dr. William Gould, Professor of Indian History, School of History, University of Leeds, UK

EMINENT CITIZENS AND SOCIAL ACTIVISTS:
Justice (retd) Rajinder Sachar, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court
Admiral L Ramdas, former Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
Madhu Bhaduri India's former ambassador to Belarus, Lithuania, and Portugal
Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan and the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
Swami Agnivesh, Arya Samaj scholar, social activist and former Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA)
Anand Patwardhan, documentary film-maker
Vrinda Grover, senior advocate and human rights activist
Subhashini Ali, ex-MP member Polit Bureau CPI(M)
Yogendra Yadav, Swaraj Abhiyan leader, psephologist, and academic
Prashant Bhushan, Swaraj Abhiyan leader, senior lawyer, and human rights activist
Nandita Das, film actor, director, and activist
Lalita Ramdas, former Chairperson of Greenpeace International and a founding member of Greenpeace India, former President of International Council for Adult Education
Dr Ram Puniyani, former Professor of Biomedical Engineering at IITBombay, human rights activist associated with All-India Secular Forum, 2006 recipient of Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration
Richa Singh, President, Allahabad University Students Union, Allahabad
Harsh Mander, Director of Center for Equity Studies, social worker and Special Commissioner to the Supreme Court on Right to Food case
Dr Bhalchandra Kango, CPI leader
Prafulla Samantara, Lok Shakti Abhiyan
Lingraj Azad – Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti, NAPM, Odisha;
Dr. Sunilam, Aradhna Bhargava - Kisan Sangharsh Samiti
Meera – Narmada Bachao Andolan, NAPM, MP;
Suniti SR, Suhas Kolhekar, Prasad Bagwe - NAPM, Maharashtra;
Gabriele Dietrich, Geetha Ramakrishnan – Unorganised Sector Workers Federation, NAPM, TN;
C R Neelkandan – NAPM Kerala;
P Chennaiah & Ramakrishnan Raju – NAPM Andhra Pradesh,
Arundhati Dhuru, Richa Singh - NAPM, UP;
Sister Celia - Domestic Workers Union
Rukmini VP, Garment Labour Union, NAPM, Karnataka;
Vimal Bhai - Matu Jan Sangathan
Jabar Singh, NAPM, Uttarakhand;
Anand Mazgaonkar, Krishnakant - Paryavaran Suraksh Samiti, NAPM Gujarat;
Kamayani Swami, Ashish Ranjan – Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan
Mahendra Yadav – Kosi Navnirman Manch, NAPM Bihar;
Faisal Khan, Khudai Khidmatgar,
JS Walia, NAPM Haryana;
Kailash Meena, NAPM Rajasthan;
Amitava Mitra and Sujato Bhadra, NAPM West Bengal;
B S Rawat – Jan Sangharsh Vahini
Rajendra Ravi, Madhuresh Kumar and Shabnam Shaikh – NAPM, Delhi,
Brother Varghese and Subhash Lomate, Jai Kisan Andolan
Vandana Mishra, President, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), UP
Leo Saldanha, Coordinator, Environment Support Group (ESG), Bangalore
Nityanand Jayaraman, Vettiver Collective, Chennai
Kalyani Menon Sen--Feminist Learnings