NEW DELHI: Delhi University teachers have rejected what they describe as an “undermining of democracy in Delhi University,” issuing a statement a day after the Varsity’s Executive Council members proposed overhauling the DUSU election process. A war of memes erupted on social media as students mocked the student bodies associated with the political parties, questioning their uncertain future.
Delhi University teachers have rejected what they describe as an “undermining of democracy in Delhi University,” issuing a statement a day after Varsity’s Executive Council members proposed overhauling the DUSU election process.
The Delhi Teachers’ Forum (DTF) stated that the DU administration is attempting to unilaterally change the electoral process of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) from direct to indirect elections, bypassing democratic protocols and sidelining the Executive Council (EC).
During an emergency EC meeting, Mithuraaj Dhusiya of the DTF vehemently protested against this top-down approach, emphasizing that any changes to the DUSU election methodology—a cornerstone of campus democracy—must be discussed transparently in a regular EC meeting. He stressed the need for inclusive consultations involving students, teachers, and the broader democratic movement rather than imposing ill-conceived changes without consensus.
“The undermining of democracy through the use of money and muscle power on campus during elections and at other times has occurred with the active connivance of the very administration that goes out of its way to suppress authentic democratic dissent, which seeks to preserve the central relevance of public higher education,” said Rajib Ray, President of the DTF.
Meanwhile, Abha Dev Habib, a member of the DTF executive, said, “This uncalled-for move by the DU administration may be seen as part of a decades-long pattern of systemic erosion of democratic structures at DU.
For over 20 years, successive Vice-Chancellors have kept five student representative positions vacant in the Academic Council, effectively excluding student voices from academic governance.
This exclusion has paralleled DU’s transformation into a “laboratory” for top-down academic restructuring, persistently aligning with the agenda of commercialisation and saffronisation as steps toward privatization.”