Ex-Ashoka University VC Pratap Bhanu Mehta Resigns As Professor

Political scientist and scholar Pratap Bhanu Mehta tendered his resignation as professor from Ashoka University on Tuesday, 16 March. The reason for his step-down is still unknown.

The move comes two years after Mehta resigned from the post of the vice-chancellor of Ashoka University, one of the foremost liberal arts institutes in the country, citing a desire to return to full-time academic life.

A spokesperson from Ashoka University confirmed the resignation to The Indian Express.

“During his tenure as vice-chancellor and member of faculty, he immensely contributed to the University. Ashoka University wishes him well in his future endeavours.”

An Ashoka University spokesperson

The university avoided answering a question put forth by the newspaper on if the resignation was due to Mehta’s criticism of the incumbent government.

Who Is Mehta?

Mehta is a prolific writer and a critical thinker. He has been critical of the government’s moves in various articles written for The Hindu, Financial Times, The Telegraph, and is an editorial consultant for The Indian Express.

Mehta has served on many central government committees, including India’s National Security Advisory Board, the Prime Minister of India’s National Knowledge Commission, and a Supreme Court-appointed committee on elections in Indian universities.

He is also on the editorial boards of many academic journals, including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Democracy, and the India and Global Affairs. He also served as the president of the Centre for Policy Research, one of India’s most distinguished think tanks. He was a Professor at NYU Law School’s Global Faculty as well.

Earlier, he was a visiting professor of Government at Harvard University; associate professor of Government and of Social Studies at Harvard, and for a brief period, professor of Philosophy and of Law and Governance at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Mehta holds a BA (first class) in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford and a PhD in politics from Princeton. He received the 2010 Malcolm Adiseshiah award and the 2011 Infosys Prize for Social Sciences - Political Science.