MUMBAI: Five days after banning a students' collective on the campus, Tata Institute of Social Sciences ( TISS ) has issued a public notice stating that it would review its order in the larger interest of the student bodies and the institute. It also said that the decision would be made in 'due course of time'. The decision to review the ban has been taken after the banned collective , Progressive Students' Forum (PSF), wrote to the chancellor, DP Singh, seeking his intervention in the matter.
The PSF was banned from the institute through an order dated Aug 19, terming it as 'unauthorised' and 'illegal'. TISS has also issued individual show-cause notices to PSF leadership team. In the notice issued on Saturday, signed by the officiating registrar, it mentioned, 'With respect to representation addressed to the TISS authorities, it is to state that competent authority has taken a considered view and suggested to review the order of ban imposed on PSF.
..' Some students' organisations, including the right-wing organisations on the campus and ABVP had called the ban 'undemocratic' and 'arbitrary'.
Members of the forum, however, said nothing has changed on ground with the Saturday notice issued. "The ban has not been revoked and the PSF leadership team has also received individual notices initiating disciplinary action..
. Students have been told to provide explanations for involvement with the forum in the past, before the ban was imposed," said a student. Students alleged that notices were dated Aug 19 but were sent to students after the ban and that it has not specified clearly what their 'unauthorised' activity is.
The individual notice issued to the leadership team states the students have been printing TISS under their title of PSF without the institute's nod and holding 'unauthorised' activities on campus. The activities that 'concerned' the administration included disrupting normal functioning of the institute and violating university policies, bringing down image of the institute on social media, and spreading harmful rumours. Students were told to give a written reply, which they did, but are concerned the institute had done a similar thing with KS Ramadas, research scholar 5suspended from the campus in April.
