The Making of an Authoritarian University: Insights From India

ABSTRACT

This commentary explores geographies of authoritarianism in universities in contemporary India. It first develops an analytical framework of authoritarian campus geographies by combining insights from critical campus geographies and authoritarian geographies that centres a multi‐scalar practice‐orientated understanding of authoritarianism. The commentary then applies this framework to trace and analyse authoritarian practices within university contexts. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork and higher education policies, the paper outlines four broad but interconnected categories of authoritarian practices— centralisation , bureaucratisation , securitisation and militarisation . In exploring the relationships of these practices with the space and institution of the university, the commentary shows that authoritarian politics go beyond undermining academic freedom by effectively remaking the university space and affecting everyday life within the campus. The commentary aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of authoritarianism in India by tracing its institutional, spatial and everyday manifestations within university contexts.