"Dear Superheroes": Academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta's Letter to Ashoka Students

A prominent critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, Pratap Bhanu Mehta said his public writings were "perceived to carry risks for the university"

Academician and political commentator Pratap Bhanu Mehta, whose resignation from Ashoka University last week reignited a discussion on the consequences of criticising the BJP, wrote an open letter to the university's students - whom he addressed as "superheroes" - on Sunday, praising them for a "bracing moral clarity and deep political wisdom" and "rebellion grounded in a concern for freedom and democracy". In his letter Mr Mehta, a vocal critic of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, spoke of "dark shadows of authoritarianism" that needed to be fought in a "principled and intelligent" manner, and indicated he drew comfort from the "poise and articulacy with which you (the students) defended important values and demanded accountability". "Ashoka as an institution stands indicted before your bracing moral clarity and deep political wisdom. Your protests instantly grasped what we, your elders, failed to adequately understand. Your protest was not about two individuals. It was about Ashoka's institutional integrity. But it was also about the dark and ominous shadows that loom over India democracy," Mr Mehta wrote. "Your 'rebellion' was grounded in a concern for freedom and democracy. You carried it out with dignity, grace and, I might add, based on memes some of you shared, some serious artistic creativity... " he added.