The Crossbill News Desk
The Congress on Sunday (December 21) intensified its attack on the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), with senior leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is facing growing ideological interference that threatens its academic autonomy. Gandhi claimed that premier educational institutions must function on the basis of knowledge and science, not political or ideological control.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha shared a video on his WhatsApp channel from a recent interaction with students of the Indian Statistical Institute, which took place at his office in the Parliament House complex during the Winter Session.
The interaction was part of what Gandhi refers to as the “Jan Sansad”, a series of meetings he holds with people from diverse backgrounds during Parliament sessions.
“I met with students from the Indian Statistical Institute at the 'Jan Sansad'. They reiterated the same serious concerns that students and teachers from other educational institutions across the country have been consistently raising. The students explained that the ISI is gradually being taken over institutionally by the RSS,” Gandhi said in his post accompanying the video.
Emphasising the stature of the institute, the former Congress president said, “The ISI is not just any ordinary institution -- it conducts high-level research in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Computer Science and policy-making, and has produced world-class experts for the country.”
Gandhi further alleged that bodies meant to safeguard academic independence were being undermined. Academic councils, which should be run by academicians, are now facing bureaucratic and ideological interference, he alleged.
According to him, the syllabus and research agenda were also being influenced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
“This is not educational reform, but a conspiracy to weaken education and institutions -- so that the future of young people can be pushed into darkness, and these institutions can be privatised or their assets sold off,” he claimed.
Warning of broader consequences, Gandhi said, “This attack is not just on institutions, but on the country's intellectual freedom, scientific temperament and the future of its youth. We will not let this happen,” the Congress leader asserted.
Reiterating his position, Gandhi said education must remain free from ideological control, stressing that institutions should be guided by knowledge and science, not by any ideology.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha shared a video on his WhatsApp channel from a recent interaction with students of the Indian Statistical Institute, which took place at his office in the Parliament House complex during the Winter Session.
The interaction was part of what Gandhi refers to as the “Jan Sansad”, a series of meetings he holds with people from diverse backgrounds during Parliament sessions.
“I met with students from the Indian Statistical Institute at the 'Jan Sansad'. They reiterated the same serious concerns that students and teachers from other educational institutions across the country have been consistently raising. The students explained that the ISI is gradually being taken over institutionally by the RSS,” Gandhi said in his post accompanying the video.
Emphasising the stature of the institute, the former Congress president said, “The ISI is not just any ordinary institution -- it conducts high-level research in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Computer Science and policy-making, and has produced world-class experts for the country.”
Gandhi further alleged that bodies meant to safeguard academic independence were being undermined. Academic councils, which should be run by academicians, are now facing bureaucratic and ideological interference, he alleged.
According to him, the syllabus and research agenda were also being influenced by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
“This is not educational reform, but a conspiracy to weaken education and institutions -- so that the future of young people can be pushed into darkness, and these institutions can be privatised or their assets sold off,” he claimed.
Warning of broader consequences, Gandhi said, “This attack is not just on institutions, but on the country's intellectual freedom, scientific temperament and the future of its youth. We will not let this happen,” the Congress leader asserted.
Reiterating his position, Gandhi said education must remain free from ideological control, stressing that institutions should be guided by knowledge and science, not by any ideology.
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