Over 500 academics from Indian and foreign universities have criticised the “arbitrary” suspension of four faculty members of the South Asian University in Delhi and sought the intervention of the foreign ministers of the Saarc countries, which fund the university.

In a letter to the ministers on Saturday, the academics urged the revocation of the June 16 suspension of Snehashish Bhattacharya, Srinivas Burra, Irfanullah Farooqi and Ravi Kumar, who had opposed the university’s actions against agitating students. The university has accused the four of misconduct.

In the letter, the academics said that such actions against faculty members run counter to the Indian education system’s traditions of openness and dialogue.

“They also stand in conflict with a faculty’s obligations to speak on students’ behalf and ensure a safe and supportive learning environmentthat promotes the well-being and educational development of students,” the letter said.

India bears the capital investment and half the operational costs of the international university while the other seven Saarc nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — share the other half.

The university offers master’s and PhD courses to students from these eight nations. Nearly 300 students are enrolled there.

Last October, the university witnessed a student demonstration for increased stipends and representation in sexual harassment forums.

The university rejected the demands, expelled five students for alleged misconduct without a proctorial inquiry, and called police into the campus.

It later revoked the expulsions of two students after they apologised. The other three students have challenged the university’s actions in court.

The four faculty members were served with show-cause notices in December for writing emails to the university community asking it to oppose the entry of the police and the student expulsions.

In Saturday’s letter, the academics said the suspension order “violates the basic rights of faculty members to exercise their professional skills and fulfil their obligations, while at the same time, denying the students of valuable instruction and mentorship”.

“The arbitrariness and callous disregard with which the administrators have taken actions against the professors violate the norms of accountability, transparency, integrity and sustainability of academic institutions. This will undermine a vibrant and productive academic community and can erode the trust and academic character of the university,” they wrote.

“We urge you all to intervene in this regard and call upon the SAU administration to immediately revoke the unfair and arbitrary suspension orders and establish a congenial academic environment in the university.”

The signatories include Akeel Bilgrami, Sheldon Pollock and Partha Chatterjee from Columbia University, Prabhat Patnaik, S.D. Muni and Amit Bhaduri from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Anu Muhammad from Jahangirnagar University in Dhaka, Anupama Rao from Barnard College in New York, Costas Lapavitsas from SOAS University of London, David Ruccio from the University of Notre Dame, Gyan Prakash from Princeton University, Irfan Habib from Aligarh Muslim University, Jayadeva Uyangoda from the University of Colombo, Jayati Ghosh and Nancy Folbre from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Kevin Anderson from the University of California and Mukul Kesavan, writer. Kesavan is also a columnist for The Telegraph.