Universities urged to cut academic ties with Pakisthan, Turkiye & Bangladesh

Abstract

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) Thursday wrote to vice chancellors across the country urging them to sever academic ties with institutions in Pakistan, Turkiye, and Bangladesh, citing national security concerns. Institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia and Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University (CSJMU), have already suspended or terminated their academic collaborations with Turkish higher education institutions, while Delhi University is reviewing its MoUs. In a strongly worded letter, “Appeal for National Solidarity in Response to Pakistan and Its Allies’ State-Sponsored Terrorism Against India”, to all the 1,100 universities, AIU president professor Vinay Kumar Pathak condemned what he described as “state-sponsored terrorism” and criticised countries such as Turkiye and Bangladesh for supporting anti-India narratives. “These efforts aim to destabilise our democratic fabric and national unity,” the letter reads, calling on Indian universities to “review and, if needed, suspend or end” partnerships with institutions in the three nations. JNU has suspended an MoU with Turkiye’s Inonu University “due to national security considerations as JNU stands with the nation and the armed forces, many of whom are JNU Alumni,” said Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, VC of the university. Jamia has suspended all forms of collaborations with Turkish educational and other establishments. UP govt-run CSJMU has terminated its MoUwith Istanbul University.