Statement from The Edict on the Denial of Entry to Professor Ravikant Kisana

The Editorial Board of The Edict expresses its deep disappointment and dissatisfaction over Ashoka University's rejection of Professor Ravikant Kisana's (Buffalo Intellectual) entry to campus for a Book Talk organised by the Savitri Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (SAPSC), scheduled for the 14th of September. Members of SAPSC approached the administration to seek prior approval for a visiting speaker and were informed that his entry had been denied. No public or administrative reasoning has been offered yet.

A university is not merely a place where degrees are conferred; it is a place where arguments across a diverse spectrum are made, contested, and revised in the presence of people who disagree, criticise, but most importantly engage with each other. We regard this decision as an attack on academic and intellectual freedom, one made all the more troubling by Ashoka’s own repeated claims to be a liberal arts university built on critical inquiry. 

Professor Ravikant Kisana is an established scholar and among the most prominent voices writing and speaking on caste in India today. He is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean (Academic Affairs) at Woxsen University, Hyderabad, and has previously taught at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru. The talk was a discussion on Meet the Savarnas, a book that examines the cultural and social privilege of the Savarna elite and the unspoken architecture of caste in contemporary India. Professor Kisana’s work on caste privilege in higher education is critical in understanding the current hollowing out of public universities and the simultaneous and subsequent rise of private institutions.  That the author of this particular book should be denied entry to this particular campus is a shameful irony. It leaves us with little room to believe the University welcomes criticism directed at itself. 

In light of this, The Edict stands in complete solidarity with SAPSC, one of the few spaces at Ashoka that centre marginalised voices and provide a platform for critical discussions. We condemn, in advance and without qualification, any singling out of the students involved. No student who attends the open reading circle should face disciplinary consequences, informal warnings, or administrative pressure of any kind for having done so. 

We urge students to attend the open reading circle and to stand with SAPSC. Regardless of your individual opinions, perspectives, or leanings, university spaces are grounded in a shared belief that difficult questions do not disappear when we shy away from them. They demand that we confront them—not only within classrooms, but equally so in and through our everyday activities, practices, and ideas. 

Signed, 

Anamta Husain, Managing Editor

Avika Mantri, Managing Editor

Maya Ribeiro, Managing Editor

Ananya Mahnot, News Co-Editor

Antara Kulkarni, News Co-Editor

Aishani Misra, Arts and Culture Co-Editor

Nikita Kalra, Arts and Culture Co-Editor

Hiyaneijemmy Das, Opinions Co-Editor

Suryansh Jalan, Opinions Co-Editor

Ishita Mazumdar, Games Editor

Gauri Deshpande, Politics Newsdesk Co-editor