MIT suspends Indian-origin student over pro-Palestinian article in magazine

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology alleges that the essay, titled 'On Pacifism', could be interpreted as encouraging violent protests on campus

Prahlad Iyengar, a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been suspended following the publication of a pro-Palestine essay in the student magazine Written Revolution, according to the media reports. 

 

The suspension includes a ban on Iyengar from entering the MIT campus and the termination of his National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The administrative move stems from the essay’s perceived call for violence. 

 

The essay, titled ‘On Pacifism’, can be interpreted as encouraging violent protests on campus, believes MIT. Although Iyengar’s essay did not directly call for violence, it argued that pacifist methods might not be the best approach for Palestine, while the issue was further complicated by the inclusion of images related to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the US State Department designates it as a terrorist organisation.

 

The multidisciplinary student magazine Written Revolution has also been banned. An MIT faculty newsletter by Alex Byrne and Brad Skow argues that the essay ‘On Pacifism’ is clearly within the boundaries of the First Amendment (of MIT’s Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom). “It is neither harassment nor a direct threat,” they said.

 

In response to the suspension, Iyengar criticised the decision as an infringement on free speech, especially on university campuses in the United States. He emphasised that the controversy surrounding his essay arose from images that were not supplied by him, calling the accusation of terrorism baseless. 

 

The MIT administration, however, maintains that the publication contained violent imagery and language that could incite disruptive protests.

 

This isn’t the first time Iyengar has faced suspension. He was previously suspended after participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations last year. His case has drawn attention from various student groups, including the MIT Coalition Against Apartheid, which has launched a protest demanding the reversal of his suspension. 

 

The Coalition Against Apartheid and other supporters argue that MIT is unjustly criminalising students based on their political views, warning that the institution’s actions set a dangerous precedent for the suppression of free expression.

 

For now, Iyengar is appealing the decision, and the MIT Graduate Student Union has also voiced concern over the situation, calling MIT’s stance unacceptable. A rally in support of Iyengar took place at Cambridge City Hall on December 9.