New Delhi:Eminent economist Raghuram Rajan has said free speech suffered a "grievous blow" in India with the resignations of Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Arvind Subramanian from the Ashoka University and that the varsity's founders have bartered away its soul.
Earlier this week, the Sonipat-based Ashoka University -- a leading varsity that offers courses in liberal arts and sciences -- found itself at the centre of a controversy after political commentator Mehta and economist Subramanian resigned.
In a Linkedin post, former RBI governor Rajan said that free speech has suffered a "grievous blow" in India this week as professor Mehta, one of India's finest political scientists, resigned from the Ashoka University.
"The reality is that professor Mehta is a thorn in the side of the establishment. He is no ordinary thorn because he skewers those in government and in high offices like the Supreme Court with vivid prose and thought-provoking arguments," he said.
On the recent developments at the varsity, Rajan -- who is a professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business -- said, "Free speech is the soul of a great university. By compromising on it, the founders have bartered away its soul."
He further said, "And if you show a willingness to barter your soul, is there any chance the pressures will go away? This is indeed a sad development for India," Rajan said.
Mehta's exit from the varsity was followed by the resignation of professor Subramanian, also a former chief economic advisor of the Narendra Modi government.
Rajan also quoted a few lines from Subramanian's resignation letter which said, "That even Ashoka with its private status and backing by private capital can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom is ominously disturbing.
"Above all, the University's commitment to fight for and sustain the Ashoka vision is now open to question makes it difficult for me to continue being part of Ashoka."
Rajan noted that if Ashoka's founders believe "they have compromised with the powers that be in the greater interests of the university, they are wrong".
According to Rajan, it is not that Mehta has much sympathy for the opposition either. "As a true academic, he is an equal opportunity critic. He is, and I hope will continue to be, one of the intellectual leaders of liberalism in India," the former RBI governor said.
Rajan also quoted Mehta from his resignation letter that said, "After a meeting with founders it has become abundantly clear to me that my association with the university may be considered a political liability."
Rajan opined that Mehta and Subramanian's statements suggest that Ashoka's founders have succumbed to outside pressure to get rid of "troublesome" critics.