Why DU’s Mandatory Seminar Approval Rule Is Seen as a Tool of Ideological Control
Tarushi Aswani | 04 December 2025 | The Wire
The recent imposition of an administrative regulation on research presentations at Delhi University (DU) has triggered a deeper crisis of trust, exposing what many faculty and students believe is a systematic attempt to stifle dissent, control scholarship, and reshape the identity of one of India’s top universities.
The recent requirement for prior approval of papers to be presented outside the university is being read by many as a thinly veiled instrument of ideological control.
According to a November 12 notification, DU faculty wishing to present papers at national or international seminars must now submit the full text of the paper two months prior to the event. Alongside, they are required to provide the conference brochure or programme schedule, an invitation letter, and post event, a detailed report of sessions attended and a certificate of presentation. Crucially, the new rules empower a DU-appointed committee not only to evaluate the academic merit of the paper, but also to vet the “credentials of the organising body”…