A framework on ‘national priority’ will make our research field far more dynamic and productive: Swadesh Singh, Assistant professor, Delhi University

Scholarship and research need rational approach and critical thinking. They carry a context and are conducted within predefined parameters. The methodology used in research is decided upon by the researcher and her/his supervisor after conducting a pre-research study and assessments.

Given the fact that our resources are limited and our socio-economic problems are numerous, what is needed in higher educational institutes is a framework for research topics. This is more important in social sciences as focused research can go a long way in finding lasting solutions to our critical national problems.

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Research subjects are decided through a holistic, fair, and critically immersive method: Dinesh Singh, Former V-C, Delhi University

The clarification issued by the human resource development ministry also focuses largely on subjects related to science and technology. What about social sciences and humanities? They too are important planks of scholarship and must never be ignored.
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Universities funded with public money have a responsibility to govt and policymakers: Vandana Mishra, Assistant professor, JNU

The circular issued by the university at the behest of the HRD ministry emphasises the need to focus on national priorities with respect to PhD research. The government is well within its rights to delineate what the country’s pressing issues are. Even after a particular topic has been defined as national security, there are always a variety of ways to approach it and research it.

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All these attempts to curtail thought and intellect are a result of Modi government’s insecurities: Purushottam Agarwal, Professor and author

The problem with the Narendra Modi government is that it suffers from a serious case of inferiority complex. They are mediocre and so they hate excellence of any kind. They suffer from the authoritarian disease of wanting to be in control all the time.

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This form of state policing subverts the very idea of democracy: Neeladri Bhattacharya, Former professor, JNU

This is a disastrous idea. I can imagine this being the norm in totalitarian countries where the state dictates everything: what citizens can speak and read, how they ought to think, what they can teach and write, what artists can create or what singers can sing. But India is a democracy, even if the institutions of democratic society are being rapidly undermined. 

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