NEW DELHI, Jan. 20 -- The draft University Grants Commission (UGC) Guidelines 2025 is a blatant attempt by the Union Government to suppress whatever little academic freedom scholars in Indian Universities, both central and state, enjoy.

Education is a subject in the Concurrent List, and both the Union and State governments are empowered to make laws governing educational institutions. India has 1074 Universities, 56 of which are central universities, and the remaining 1018 include universities set up by the states and private universities.

In principle, the University Grants Commission is an independent body. However, from its inception in 1953, like the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the administration of UGC has been don...