TISS Students’ Union condemns denial of rights

TISS Students' Union condemns alleged infringement of students' rights on campus, criticizes restrictions on activities, and calls for clear guidelines from administration.

Mumbai: The Students’ Union of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) – an elected body which raises the concerns and demands of the student community to the administration – has issued a statement strongly condemning the alleged infringement of students’ rights on campus.

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“The implementation of informal restrictions on student activities without explanations, including event approvals (even for routine school events), venue usage, and gatherings raises a fundamental question: whom is this campus actually for? It seems the restrictions are focused on creating an ‘artificially sanitised environment’ for the time being, rather than fostering a vibrant and engaged student community,” the statement notes.

The statement said the union stands in solidarity with students who had been denied their rights. It highlighted the absence of guidelines regarding holding events on campus despite promises to the contrary and urged the administration to release clear and official guidelines, emphasising the need for student-centric inputs during the drafting process.

The statement also criticised the administration’s emphasis on students needing to “convince” authorities for event permissions and asserted that it undermined student autonomy and created unnecessary hurdles. It also accused the administration of infantilising student opinions and demanding all communication be documented through official channels for transparency and accountability.

TISS officials said that the vice-chancellor’s office did not receive any correspondence from the union. “When we receive it, we will address the same,” said an official.