Reporters Without Orders

Reporters Without Orders Ep 307: Academic Freedom Index, India’s PSA prisoners

Feb 5, 2024

Guests Sumedha Mittal and Neerja Deodhar discuss India's slipping rank in the Academic Freedom Index and the culture of surveillance on professors. They also explore the challenges faced by prisoners under the Public Safety Act in J&K.

42:43

Creator website

Episode guests

Sumedha Mittal

Neerja Deodhar

AI Summary

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

India's slipping rank in the Academic Freedom Index is attributed to the growing 'culture of surveillance' on professors and faculty members, affecting campus integrity.

Prisoners jailed under the Public Safety Act in J&K are granted bail but aren't released due to the requirement of 'clearance letters' from authorities, raising concerns about delays and compliance with court orders.

Deep dives

Growing Culture of Surveillance in College Professors in India

The podcast discusses the growing trend of surveillance and targeting of college professors in India. It highlights a report on academic freedom in India, where the country ranks poorly, and how factors like campus integrity and institutional autonomy have been affected. The episode shares examples of professors being targeted for personal reasons, such as social media posts, class discussions, and choice of guest lecturers. It raises concerns about self-censorship and its impact on critical thinking and open debate in the education system.

Understanding the challenge of releasing a movie on current political scenarios

00:27

Introduction

2min

The Decline of Academic Freedom in India

9min

The Impact of Self-Censorship in Academic Institutions

12min

Delays and Complications in Obtaining Clearance Letters for Prisoners in Jammu and Kashmir

12min

Discussion of Show on Education and Vikram Adit Mottwane's Article

6min

Discussion and recommendation of the Bollywood movie Merry Christmas

2min

This week, host Tanishka Sodhi is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal and Mid-Day’s Neerja Deodhar.

Neerja reported on India’s slipping rank in the Academic Freedom Index, placing it behind Sri Lanka and Pakistan. She says this is a result of the growing “culture of surveillance” on professors and faculty members which affects campus integrity.

Sumedha reported on how prisoners jailed under the Public Safety Act in J&K are granted bail, but aren’t released since authorities want “clearance letters” that take time. Doesn’t this go against court orders? Listen to find out.

Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:02:04 - Academic Freedom Index

00:24:06 - PSA prisoners

00:35:21 - Recommendations

Recommendations

Neerja

Abbott Elementary

Sumedha

Our Struggle

Tanishka

Merry Christmas

Produced by Saif Ali Ekram, edited by Umrav Singh Gurjar, and recorded by Anil Kumar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode