Universities Need to Remain Sites of Dissent
Vidyasagar Sharma | 18 February 2026 | The Wire
The withdrawal of an invitation to actor and public intellectual Naseeruddin Shah by the University of Mumbai is not an isolated incident. Instead, it is the emergence of new defining characteristics and a troubling transformation underway within Indian universities. The institutions of higher learning that were once meant to serve as spaces for critical inquiry, debate, and dissent are increasingly being reshaped into promotional palaces for a new form of institutionalised “cancel culture,” one that is sanctioned by university administrations and reinforced by the political establishment.
The Mumbai University episode must be seen alongside a series of incidents from the past decade. The recent Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, conference titled ‘Critical Philosophy of Caste and Race’ faced immense political pressure and administrative hostility, leading to the initiation of a fact-finding committee to probe the intent of discussing caste and race…