The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological mothership, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), have sought to reshape the university as a vehicle for majoritarian nationalist indoctrination. At the heart of this shift lies a sustained effort to impose a Hindutva worldview on education. School and university curriculums have been ‘saffronised’— to erase the contributions of Mughals, references in school textbooks to the have been excised, Mahatma Gandhi’s opposition to Hindu nationalism has been obscured. In universities, administrators aligned with the RSS ideology have been installed in leadership roles, and critical scholars are being sidelined. The result: a narrowing of academic discourse, an erosion of pluralism, and a silencing of critique.

Universities directly under the central government have borne the brunt. At Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), student leaders were arrested for sedition in 2016 after a campus event on Kashmir. Police entered the university, and the media branded the protest ‘anti-national’. This was no anomaly. At Banaras Hindu University (BHU), women protesting sexual harassment were baton-charged.

At Delhi University’s Ramjas College, right wing student groups violently disrupted events featuring progressive voices. In each instance, the state machinery backed the aggressors, sending an unmistakable message: dissent will not be tolerated. Faculty have been targeted, too. In 2018, 48 JNU professors received show-cause notices for peacefully protesting administrative policies. The crackdown has fostered a culture of self-censorship.

Scholars now avoid politically sensitive topics. Hiring and promotions increasingly reward ideological loyalty over academic merit. Universities are instructed to vet foreign collaborations and pre-approve conference topics. India’s ranking on the has plummeted to ‘completely restricted’, on par with authoritarian regimes.

Reports by Scholars at Risk and other global watchdogs echo a grim consensus: the academic spirit in India is suffocating. The repression extends beyond public institutions. Even private universities like Ashoka—once promoted as bastions of liberal thought—now bow to political diktats. Their boards, often populated by wealthy donors, operate out of fear of State reprisal. When donors and administrators can demand revisions to academic papers, the integrity of peer review collapses. The very foundation of free research is being dismantled. The case of Prof. Sabyasachi Das at Ashoka University in 2023 illustrates the scale of the assault. Das authored a paper suggesting electoral manipulation in the 2019 general elections, specifically pointing to discrimination against Muslim voters.

Though unpublished and still under peer review, the paper sparked a political firestorm. Instead of defending academic freedom, Ashoka’s administration distanced itself and pressured Das to resign. Intelligence Bureau officers visited the campus to interrogate faculty about the paper’s ‘intent’. A private liberal arts institution modelled on US universities had capitulated without a fight. Nor was this Ashoka’s first capitulation. In 2021, political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta was forced to resign because his presence was deemed a ‘political liability’.

Mehta’s departure, prompted by his criticism of the Modi government, symbolised the growing institutional price of dissent—even outside the confines of State-run universities. This erosion is not merely administrative or ideological—it is epistemological. Social science research is now subject to political vetting. Papers that question economic data, caste hierarchies or electoral trends are branded ‘anti national’. The (NEP) emphasises ‘character building’ and cultural pride, prioritising imagined or real ancient glories over critical analysis. Research is no longer about seeking the truth—it must serve majoritarian nationalism.

Yet, resistance persists. Indian campuses have often been the crucible of protest. During the anti-CAA movement, students across the country rose against discriminatory laws—only to be met with tear gas, arrests and campus lockdowns. Academics abroad who supported the protests faced smear campaigns, harassment and cancellation of their OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) status. were harassed after the revocation of Article 370. Scholars who focus on caste or minority rights have been targeted with fabricated charges and surveillance. One case stands out: that of Prof. Anand Teltumbde, a renowned Dalit intellectual. Arrested on spurious charges of plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister, his real ‘crime’ was his unflinching critique of caste oppression and Hindu nationalism.

His four-year imprisonment underscores the state’s willingness to weaponise the law to silence the most courageous voices. The BJP’s ambition is unmistakable: transform universities from forums of free thought into factories of ideological conformity. This is not merely an attack on institutions—it is an assault on the very idea of the university. A university is not just a collection of classrooms and credentials; it is a crucible of dissent, diversity and dialogue. Undermining this ethos strikes at the foundation of democracy itself. India cannot claim to be ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) while its universities are reduced to echo chambers of government propaganda.

Scientific innovation and social progress demand critical inquiry. Without fearless inquiry, teaching becomes indoctrination, and research becomes little more than State-sponsored messaging. India’s universities must be reclaimed. For the sake of intellectual integrity. For the sake of democracy. And for the sake of generations yet to learn, question and think freely.

Views are personal.

ASHOK SWAIN is a professor of peace and conflict research and UNESCO chair on International Water Cooperation at Uppsala University, Sweden.

More of his writing may be read .