Over 800 academics condemn alleged harassment of faculty member by IIMB

More than 800 academics from across the world, including faculty members from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), have written an open letter condemning the alleged harassment of Deepak Malghan, by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). 

“Most recently, in a politically-motivated move, IIMB demoted Mr. Malghan. While the Karnataka High Court has ordered a stay on this outrageous and unprecedented action, we call upon IIM Bangalore to immediately withdraw all sanctions against Mr. Deepak Malghan. We strongly condemn the misuse of IIMB Service Rules to stifle academic freedom on campus. It is a great shame that a premier institute like IIMB is violating an internationally accepted set of rights to Academic Freedom,” the letter said. 

The letter also details a series of disciplinary orders including censure orders that have been passed against Mr. Malghan by the premier institute since 2018. “The recent demotion by IIMB is only the culmination of a series of persecutions that he has been subject to since 2018. They are clearly related to the issue of academic freedom,” said the academicians including those from University of Pennysylvania and Wesleyan University among others.  

When The Hindu sought a response from IIMB for the above letter, a statement issued by the institution read as follows: “IIMB operates under well-established and faculty and Board-approved Service Rules governing employee conduct, with any disciplinary action taken in accordance with transparent and well-defined procedures. The Institute is not in agreement with certain cause-and-effect relationships as mentioned in the letter, and as some aspects of the matter are sub-judice we request all parties to refrain from speculation. Therefore, the Institute has no further comment at this time.”