In a powerful show of solidarity, over 300 activists, academics, students, and citizens both within and outside India have rallied behind Dr Deepak Malghan, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B), condemning what they call “vindictive harassment and persecution” by the institution. Dr Malghan’s work has highlighted systemic issues within India's higher education system, and his willingness to speak out against injustice has earned him widespread respect and admiration. The growing support comes in response to IIM-B’s controversial actions, including his recent demotion, which they say is a misuse of the institute's service rules aimed at stifling academic freedom on campus. The petition urges IIM-B to revoke all sanctions against Dr Malghan and protect academic freedom.
A timeline of harassment
The petition supporting Dr Malghan provides a detailed account of the actions taken by IIM-B since 2018 that many believe constitute harassment aimed at silencing his advocacy.
In June 2018, Dr Malghan criticised Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) for its failure to address the mercury poisoning caused by its thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. He urged the IIM-B student body to not invite the company for campus placements, sparking outrage within the institution’s administration. Soon after, IIM-B issued a censure order against him, with the then-director, G Raghuram, demanding that he retract the statement.
In that same year, Dr Malghan co-authored a paper with Dr Siddharth Joshi that exposed the acute lack of social diversity in India’s IIMs. The paper argued that various IIMs wilfully dodge constitutional and statutory mandates directly precipitated social diversity deficits.
The 2018 censure order was followed by several other actions that suggest an ongoing pattern of retaliation against Dr Malghan. In January 2019, after an interview with Scroll.in in which he criticised the IIMs for their lack of diversity and governance failures, he faced another censure order, which imposed restrictions on his research funding and consultancy work.
The petition recounts how Dr Malghan was subjected to further scrutiny and disciplinary actions after he posted comments on social media. The Standing Disciplinary Committee, responding to complaints regarding two of his tweets, referred the matter to an inquiry committee. The Inquiry Committee did not find any violation of any of the above service rules and except for asking Dr Malghan to exercise discretion in social media posts, did not recommend any disciplinary action.
However, the Disciplinary Committee overruled these findings, labelling him in breach of service rules and recommending a two-year promotion freeze. The IIM-B Director upheld the decision and reduced the promotion freeze to one year. Dr Malghan has since challenged this order in the Karnataka High Court.
By 2023, the situation had escalated further. After a board member filed a complaint over a single tweet by Dr Malghan on the RTI response on the caste discrimination complaints at the institute. Instead of focusing solely on this tweet, the IIM-B Director referred an additional 100 tweets to the Disciplinary Committee. After review, the Committee flagged eight tweets as potentially violating IIM-B's amended service rules. The inquiry's findings said that academic freedom is not absolute, and concluded that Dr Malghan was guilty of breaching these rules.
Consequently, severe penalties were recommended, including a suspension without pay during the ongoing disciplinary process, and a demotion to the position of Assistant Professor for five years. In March 2024, the Director enacted this recommendation, imposing an immediate demotion and restricting Dr Malghan from discussing any matters related to IIM-B on social media or public platforms. These decisions not only reduced his basic pay but also withheld his annual increments. Dr Malghan has since challenged this order in the Karnataka High Court, which has granted an injunction against the demotion.
The petition in support of Dr Malghan articulates a powerful condemnation of what its signatories describe as the stifling of academic freedom. “As academics and other concerned people, we strongly condemn this silencing of the demands raised by Dr Malghan, which are entirely devoted to upholding India’s constitutional values,” the petition states. “We condemn the use of service rules to stifle academic freedom. We call upon IIM Bangalore to desist from its harassment of Dr Malghan and recognise his valuable contributions towards academic integrity.”