Arvind Subramanian quits Ashoka University after Pratap Bhanu Mehta exit

'Ashoka can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom,' says noted economist

Economist Arvind Subramanian Thursday quit Ashoka University's faculty, citing circumstances surrounding political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta's resignation as a professor two days ago.
 

“Ashoka can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom,” said Subramanian in his resignation letter, the Indian Express and ThePrint.in reported.
 

Mehta, one of India’s best-known public intellectuals, on Tuesday resigned from the University, which has not given a reason for his decision.
 

Subramanian, a former chief economic advisor to the Indian government, said in his resignation letter Mehta’s leaving had “devastated” him, said ThePrint. Subramanian joined the university in July as a professor of economics. He is also the founding director of Ashoka Center for Economic Policy.
 

“I am acutely aware of the broader context in which Ashoka and its trustees have to operate, and have so far admired the University for having navigated it so well. But that someone of such integrity and eminence, who embodied the vision underlying Ashoka, felt compelled to leave is troubling,” he said in the letter addressed to Malabika Sarkar, Vice Chancellor of Asoka University. “The University’s commitment to fight for and sustain the Ashoka vision is now open to question,” he said.