An Indian-origin student has been suspended from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over an essay he wrote about the Palestinian people and their suffering, and against Israel’s actions.
Prahlad Iyengar, a doctoral student at MIT, was issued an immediate “interim” suspension and banned from entering the campus on 1 November over an essay he had written titled “On Pacifism”, in a student magazine, Written Revolution.
Prahlad Iyengar has been suspended until January 2026 which would terminate his 5-year NSF fellowship.
In the essay, he criticised the genocidal practices inflicted on the people of Gaza by Israel. He reportedly opposed the idea of pacifism as a political strategy during times of oppression, which led to disciplinary action by MIT, accusing Iyengar of ‘promoting terrorism’.
He now faces the threat of expulsion from his academic programme and the cancellation of his fellowship.
The magazine Written Revolution was also banned by the MIT administration following the disciplinary action against Prahlad Iyengar.
Meanwhile, numerous student organisations have rallied in solidarity with Prahlad, urging the MIT administration to reverse his suspension.
The move by MIT has sparked debate about freedom of speech and political activism.
MIT’s decision is also seen as a targeted action, following another incident involving an email from Prahlad to fellow students explaining the context of a pro-Palestine protest directed at a lab by the professor, concerning “projects sponsored by the Ministry of Defence of Israel”.
Both Prahlad’s essay and email are “indisputably forms of expressive activity – they fall squarely within his right to free expression and academic freedom, as articulated by MIT’s own policies and rules,” said the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA), in a letter sent to Sally Kornbluth, MIT President.
“Now, more than ever, we cannot take our basic democratic rights for granted,” Prahlad Iyengar wrote in a statement condemning MIT’s actions against him and the student magazine.
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