After the previous column on the Free to Think report, 2023 by the network Scholars at Risk (Oct 8), the network released its report for the year 2024. Thus, my next two columns will focus on what the latest Free to Think report says about the worrisome state of scholars around the world.

Let me summarise the global trend. There have been 391 attacks on scholars, students and institutions in 51 countries and regions between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024. The report 2024 marks many disturbing trends. For example, interstate and intrastate armed conflict has caused havoc in the institutions of higher education in many countries.

In the current reporting period, security forces forcibly made scholars disappear. Two professors of Chinese origin working at universities in Japan went missing while visiting China. In Bangladesh, before the Awami League government was suddenly ousted in August 2024 by student and public uprising, its student group violently targeted scholars, university staff and other students for their dissenting political views and to pressure them to support the government.

In Israel, after the Hamas attack in October 7, 2023, local community members chanted ‘death to Arabs’ outside dorms where Palestinian students lived. The assailants falsely accused Palestinian students of throwing eggs at a local synagogue and playing loud music.

In an effort to maintain their power and control, state authorities, often in complicity with university authorities, attempted to silence scholars and students with a range of coercive legal measures like criminal investigations, arrests, prosecution, imprisonment and other forms of pressure. These actions are typically carried our under opaque and broad-based laws on blasphemy, defamation, sedition, national security and terrorism. These laws raise alarm because they arbitrarily restrict research, teaching, discussion and debate in universities.

In Nicaragua, the police arrested scholars and students who were critical of the government. In Libya, the internal security agency, arrested two faculty members for their union activities. In Israel, a law professor was arrested on charges of incitement to terrorism, violence and racism because she criticised Israeli military action in Gaza. In Afghanistan, Taliban arrested the vice-chancellor of an online university for offering free higher education to women. In Iran, security forces continued to arrest scholars and students opposed to the regime.

State and university authorities used a variety of disciplinary actions to punish, prevent and restrict the right to academic freedom and other rights of scholars like the loss of position by dismissal, suspension, denial of renewed contract and promotion and so on. Often, donors, elected officials, community members and others put pressure on university authorities to punish scholars.

In the United States, dozens of scholars and university staff members lost their jobs because they focused their teaching and research on disfavoured topics. At DePaul university, an adjunct professor quickly lost his job after students complained about an optional assignment he gave on the biological and health impact of Israeli military action on Gaza. At another university, a psychology professor lost her job after she invited a speaker to talk about abortion and about caring for transgender patients. The University of Texas closed its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and terminated services of about 70 employees to comply with the new Texas law that banned DEI activities at state’s public colleges and universities.

In Israel, dozens of scholars and students were suspended or fired because of their critical public comments on social media. In October 2023, a professor and a longtime peace activist at Kaye academic college was first suspended and then fired because in her social media comments, she linked the attacks on Israelis by Hamas to Palestinian suffering and acknowledged pain of both Palestinian and Israeli victims. Similarly, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design suspended at least nine Palestinian students for their pro-Palestinian comments on social media.

In Germany, the university of Cologne withdrew its professorship offer from a professor of philosophy after she signed an open letter titled ‘Philosophy for Palestine’. In Iran, professors who either criticised the government or expressed support for anti-government protests were purged.

State actors increasingly threatened and restricted international and interstate mobility of scholars and students to limit the exchange of ideas. Scholars were denied entry at national borders, deported and intentionally denied permission to travel for fieldwork, conferences, employment offers and so on. In Germany, immigration authorities denied entry to a surgeon, scheduled to speak on his recent experiences in Gaza at a Palestinian congress. In Zimbabwe, authorities deported a group of researchers who were conducting research on the governance in the country. In Afghanistan, Taliban officials turned away about 60 women students and prevented them from travelling to Dubai to study.

A large number of incidents also reported increasing threat to academic freedom of students as well through violent attacks, obstruction to their freedom of expression, assembly and association. In quite a few cases, state and university authorities called the police /security forces to break up protests. There were clashes with the police and arrests of students and faculty. In addition, many students and faculty members who participated in these protests were investigated by the university authorities and suspended or banned from campus facilities. Such incidents took place in the United States, France, Italy, Switzerland and India. While some universities sought to negotiate with protestors, other engaged in legal action against student protestors for instance, in United Kingdom and Canada. In some incidents, members of the public used violence against student protestors.

(To be continued.)

Vrijendra taught in a Mumbai college for more than 30 years and has been associated with democratic rights groups in the city