Periyar University issues show cause notice to associate professor for writing books without permission

Last year, the university issued a memo to the professor for the same reason and came under fire for it. R. Subramani, associate professor in the Department of Journalism, had authored the books Macaulay was an Enemy of Conservative Education and Periyar’s Battlefield

Igniting controversy once again, the Periyar University has issued a show cause notice to an associate professor for writing books, one of which was on Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, without obtaining its permission. Last year, the university issued a memo to the professor for the same reason and came under fire for it.

R. Subramani, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication and a government nominee Syndicate member of the Periyar University, authored a book in 2007 titled Macaulay, and in 2023, he added 60 more pages and renamed it Macaulay was an Enemy of Conservative Education and released it. Similarly, he wrote a book Periyar’s Battlefield in 2022. On November 17, 2023, the Periyar University administration issued a memo to Mr. Subramani, charging him with authoring and editing the books without obtaining permission from the university administration. The issue created a political storm at the time and various parties criticised the university. Mr. Subramani also submitted his explanation on December 4, 2023.

Now, nearly a year since, the university has issued a show cause notice, dated October 18, 2024, to Mr. Subramani, who is director (in-charge) for the Periyar Chair, Anna Chair, and Kalaignar Research Centre at the university. In the document, the university said that there were sufficient grounds to presume that Mr. Subramani authored and edited the books without obtaining permission from the Vice-Chancellor and this amounted to misconduct. According to the notice, disciplinary action would be considered against Mr. Subramani if he does not submit a response within 15 days, or if the competent officer found the submitted response unsatisfactory.

V. Vaithianathan, president, Periyar University Teachers’ Association (PUTA), alleged that this was a clear act of revenge. The notice was issued a day after the university’s convocation was held, he said, and added that the administration wanted to widen the rift between it and the State government.

Mr. Vaithianathan said: “As Mr. Subramani is a government nominee, the university is allegedly trying to crush him through these actions. It is the duty of a journalism department teacher to write books on social issues. Mr. Subramani has released 80 research papers on social issues, including caste. These two books are only collections of articles from newspapers and no permission is needed for them. If a Periyar Chair director does not have the right to release a book on Periyar, then who does? Section 14(ii) of the Periyar University Act says no permission is required if the information is of a purely literary, artistic, scientific, educational, and cultural character.”

“If action is taken against Mr. Subramani, it will paint higher education in a bad light in the State, and no teacher will come forward to write a book. The Tamil Nadu government needs to intervene,” Mr. Vaithianathan added.

Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan and Registrar (in-charge) P. Viswanathamurthi were unavailable for comments. Minister for Higher Education Govi. Chezhiaan said he would look into the issue.

Published - October 24, 2024 08:33 pm IST