IIT Roorkee has issued an internal advisory to students and employees. It asked them to avoid participating in political discussions or activities without prior permission. The advisory also asked them to be careful while making public statements on social media and in the media.
The July 20 communication said the institute had noticed activity on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. It said some campus residents had shown “their affinity with political movements like the one currently, in public utterance and in public criticism.” The circular did not mention the Jantar Mantar protest or the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). However, the institute issued the advisory in the backdrop of protests in Delhi. During the protests, thousands of people tried to march towards Parliament demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while mobile internet disruptions were reported.
The advisory reminded students and staff that the institute had admitted or appointed them for “the advancement of learning, and dissemination of knowledge in engineering, technology, sciences and arts.” It also said students and employees could not “join political discussion or participate in any political activity without prior permission.” The advisory further warned them against making statements “which is capable of embarrassing the relations between the institute and the Central Government or any other Organizations or members of the public.”
Opposition, education sector react: The mail triggered criticism online. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Moitra wrote: “And @iitroorkee our money funds you. Don’t you DARE tell our kids to forego their constitutional right to free speech & protest. Retract this email & apologise. Students ignore these bootlickers.”
Maheshwer Peri, founder of Careers360, linked the advisory to what he described as a broader trend of institutions responding aggressively to criticism. He said: “The mail of @iitroorkee warning students about social media posts isn’t isolated. Legal threat is now a pattern. Increasingly, academic institutions are using threats of legal action to silence criticism.”
Institute says advisory is routine: A day later, on July 21, IIT Roorkee issued a clarification saying the advisory was not a fresh directive. The institute said: “The communication being referred to is an internal advisory circulated among students, faculty, and staff at the commencement of each academic session.” It added: “Similar advisories are routinely issued every year in accordance with the Institute’s existing notified conduct rules and do not constitute any new directive or policy. The communication should not be misinterpreted or viewed out of context.”
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