The South Asian University (SAU) has terminated the services of Associate Professor Snehashish Bhattacharya, two years after he was suspended for “inciting students” during the 2022-23 stipend protests,
Bhattacharya was among four faculty members suspended by the SAU in 2023 for “inciting students against… the interest of the university”. As per documents, two of the faculty members wrote a “submission of regret” to the administration in March 2024, following which the SAU revoked their suspension. The third, a contractual faculty member, is learnt to have left the varsity after his contract ended.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Swati Arjun, Deputy Director ( Media & PR) at SAU said, “The decision of the termination of Dr Snehashish Bhattacharya has been taken in accordance with Regulation 38.5 of the South Asian University after the report of the Disciplinary Committee.”
Bhattacharya did not comment.
Bhattacharya was suspended on June 16, 2023, months after student protests broke out on the SAU campus in 2022 after the university administration slashed stipends for Master’s students from Rs 5,000 to Rs 3,000. The students demanded the stipend be raised to Rs 7,000 instead.
Although the administration later restored the amount to Rs 5,000, the protests continued. In October 2022, police were called to the Chanakyapuri campus to disperse students gathered outside the Acting President’s office.
The next day, 13 faculty members — including Bhattacharya — wrote to the administration, warning that summoning police would damage the university’s “international character.” The university, in the interim, expelled several students for their involvement in the protests.
On November 5, at least 15 faculty members wrote another letter, expressing concern over the actions of the university administration, which they said “were taken without following any due process”.
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A disciplinary committee, which was constituted in November 2023, laid out 52 charges against Bhattacharya in its report. Many were derived from faculty emails he co-signed in October and November 2022.
He was accused of allegedly making “wild and unsubstantiated allegations” when he described the administration’s decision to call the police as “most unfortunate” and the result of “contingent impulses”. He was charged with “inciting students” by writing that the administration had summoned the police.
“Sending mass emails to the entire teaching, non-teaching and student community is clear evidence of incitement. The charge, therefore, stands proved,” the committee said in its report. It also found his actions as “a case of concealment of facts”.
The disciplinary committee report also faulted Bhattacharya for describing the expulsions as “arbitrary,” and for warning that such actions could have “negative repercussions for the future of the university”.
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On August 18 this year, the varsity issued a show cause notice to Bhattacharya, which stated, “In view of the Disciplinary Committee constituted… to inquire into the charges against you, you are hereby asked to show cause in writing within a fortnight from the receipt of this notice as to why your services at SAU will not be terminated with immediate effect.”
Bhattacharya, it is learnt, replied within a fortnight, but the administration found it “has no substance and (is) unsatisfactory” and terminated his services with effect from June 16, 2023, his date of suspension.
As per the documents, Bhattacharya denied all the charges, telling the committee he had “not acted against the University” but only exercised his right to raise concerns as faculty.
Bhattacharya insisted his remarks — against the expulsion and suspension of students to calling police to the campus — were expressions of fact, pointing to procedural lapses in disciplinary orders and arguing that raising such concerns was “a responsible function of any employee”.
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Bhattacharya holds a PhD in Economics (2010) and a Master’s degree in Economics (2003) from the University of Notre Dame, USA, along with an MSc in Economics from the University of Calcutta (2000). He joined SAU in 2011 and taught the first batch of Economics students.
SAU, established by the eight member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), was envisioned as a regional hub for higher education and cooperation.
