Breaking the silence: Not in Ambedkar’s Name
A student from TISS reflects on a troubling shift within academic spaces, where the legacy of B. R. Ambedkar is invoked even as his core ideas are undermined. Through a firsthand account, the piece questions the growing normalization of ideological contradictions, the silencing of dissent, and the quiet transformation of universities into sites of political appropriation. It is both a critique and a call to think, to question, and to resist.
It was close to 3 in the evening when I got the mail in my institute account regarding the celebration of Ambedkar Jayanthi. As a student of a premier social science institute, engaging daily with the debates around constitution, being taught about dalit epistemology, and moreover as an Indian citizen, Ambedkar was always close to my heart. Even though I don’t love celebrating birthdays, Ambedkar Jayanthi was something that was kept different. For me, Ambedkar Jayanthi was not just a celebration for one’s birth but it was moreover a resemblance, an enlightenment, an empowerment and a historical marking of our secular, sovereign, republic nation.
So when the mail came, I was excited enough to scroll down to see who the speaker was for the program. To my surprise, the name was new and stylish – Shri. ‘Milind ji Oak’ – renowned author (this was the description given). After giving thought about the name for a fraction of time, I relied on my beloved friend – chat gpt and posed this simple question.
‘WHO IS MILIND JI OAK?’
The answer was not actually surprising. I’m putting the ai text below for you reference:
‘The “Milind ji Oak” mentioned in your email is most likely Milind Oak, a senior Sangh Pracharak and author/speaker who writes on Indian history, culture, and social thought.’
This posed a series of questions in my head.
- Why is a Sangh pracharak invited as a speaker in a premier institute like TISS?
- What does Sangh have to do with ‘Ambedkar’?
- Don’t students feel weird or am I the only one feeling ‘wrong’ in this?
As a student aware of the present political scenario, answers to these questions were all in my mind itself. TISS being a premier institute for ‘Social Sciences’, for the past 2-3 years has fallen into the cow dung pit of Saffronization where democratic spaces in academic spaces have shrunken, students/professors are being muted, and dissents are being suppressed.
This incident was not the first one where a ‘Sangh’ accredited speaker was invited. This year’s republic day also marked the same incident where ‘Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe’, a prominent Indian politician closely associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and regarded as one of the BJP-RSS intellectuals, was invited as the guest. It is to be noted along with these invitations, ‘Demography is destiny’ an agenda-driven documentary discussing infiltration, deceitful religious conversions, and the declining Total Fertility Rate (TFR) among Hindus incidents was screened at the institute on August 14, 2025, to mark Partition Horrors Remembrance Day, with the presence of Sunil Ambekar (RSS publicity head) as the chief guest. This list extends to seminars, programs happening in and around TISS recently.
While raising this issue of a ‘Sangh’ being invited, I often hear my neutral mates seeking what problem does it have?. What does Sangh have to do with Ambedkar? While we look into history, Ambedkar and the RSS were not just different – they were opposed. How does a person like Ambedkar who burned Manusmriti and an organisation like RSS which stands on the principles of ‘Manusmriti’ come on the same line?. How does a person who warned against the vision of Hindu Rashtra and an organisation which does not hesitate an edge to implement the ‘Hindu rashtra’ comes on the same stance?. How degrading is it to invite an organisation that stands against the secular values of the nation for a person’s jayanthi who stood for these own values?. Inviting a Sangh pracharak to speak on ‘Ambedkar Jayanthi’ specifically isn’t just a political choice. I would term it as an intellectual contradiction.
In the present scenario, where they hold power, they drive the agenda, it is not so easy to go against these so called ‘neutral’ voices where hate mongers, riot instigators and hindutva terrorists are invited into academic spaces, and no voices happen against it. This answers my third question. Students not only in TISS, but most of the premier institutes have fallen into this ‘Culture of silence’ as Freire notes, where you don’t oppose or stand against anything but stay silent on whatever is happening. Myself, as a student fallen into this trap, has now raised my conscience to stand against this ‘culture of silence’ and speak for my academic space where dissent is heard, debated and respected.
Ambedkar did not simply ask us to remember him. He asked us to think. He asked us to question. He gave us a Constitution precisely so that institutions – including academic ones – could not so easily be captured by majoritarian ideology. When management chooses speakers who contradict everything Ambedkar stood for, and does so in his name, on his day, the least we can do is notice. The least we can do is say something.
When academic spaces become saffronized, premier institute managements become propaganda spreaders, when they invite the ‘Right’ people in the ‘Right’ spaces, speak for the cause of your education, raise for your nation, stand for the values of Ambedkar, not just on his Jayanthi, but on every day that those values are quietly being dismantled around you.
Jai Bhim, Jai Hind.
Authored by a student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (name withheld on request)
Featured image: The huge march in solidarity with JNU (against the trending #ShutdownJNU) on February 18, 2020.