Academic freedom “shrinking” in US and India, new report warns
The annual report, released by Scholars at Risk(SAR) through its Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, documented 395 attacks on scholars, students, and institutions across 49 countries and territories between July 1 2024, and June 30 2025.
“From Afghanistan to Serbia to the United States, state leaders have cracked down on student and faculty expression, banned the study of disfavoured topics, and targeted individual scholars and students for what they teach, study, or say,” said Robert Quinn, SAR’s executive director.
The report notes a particularly troubling trend in the US, documenting around 40 attacks on academic freedom in the first half of 2025, under the Donald Trump administration.
These include the revocation of research funds for leading universities, the detention and attempted deportation of international scholars, often over pro-Palestine views, and a series of legislative and executive actions targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, making the country a “model” for dismantling academic freedom, according to SAR.
“Recent actions by the United States government to put pressure on higher education are unprecedented. They mark the first time a research and innovation superpower has voluntarily dismantled the infrastructure underpinning its global leadership,” stated Quinn.
The decline in academic freedom in the US is underscored by at least 80 recorded incidents of pressure on universities in the past year.
According to the report, such pressure has increasingly shifted from state and local actors, who were responsible for the 15 to 20 attacks typically reported annually before 2023, to the federal government, which is now seeking greater control over admissions, hiring, research, teaching, and disciplinary processes.
“These actions also undermine American democracy. Universities are incubators of democratic values, skills, and discourse. That’s why they are among the first targets of attack in places experiencing democratic decline,” added Quinn.
Just last week, the White House sent a memo to nine top-tier US universities, urging them to adopt a sweeping set of measures, including capping international undergraduate enrolment at 15% and banning the use of race and sex in hiring, under a proposal titled the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”.
Compliance, the memo stated, would grant universities “multiple positive benefits”, including access to federal student loans, visa approvals for international scholars, and certain tax advantages.
The Free To Think report further noted that US government cuts to research funding impacted a wide range of projects and educational initiatives abroad, in countries including Afghanistan, Australia, Egypt, Malawi, Portugal, South Africa, and the UK.
In another major democracy, India, several educational institutions introduced new policies restricting student expression by banning discussions, demonstrations, and sloganeering without prior authorisation, often influenced by the direction of the ruling political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Calling India a “key example” of shrinking academic freedom, the report noted a rise in campus violence in recent years.
It cited multiple incidents, including a professor from a marginalised community being beaten by religious fundamentalist groups at Sri Venkateshwara University after being accused of “promoting Christianity”, and the involvement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a key government ally, in halting a film festival at Rabindranath Tagore Medical College, despite prior approval.
In September 2024, three scientists were reportedly dropped from the final stage of selection for the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, – a national award for scientific research – apparently because they had been critical of government policies, outlined the report.
According to the Academic Freedom index (AFi), academic freedom in India was classified as “completely restricted” in 2024.
Maya John, a history teacher at the University of Delhi (DU) and member of its academic council, explained how publicly funded universities in India are now closely monitored by the ruling regime, with campuses that once fostered debate and dissent increasingly resembling “policed zones” under constant surveillance.
“We’re seeing discrimination in how student groups are treated, those aligned with the ruling party often indulge in vandalism without consequence, while others face FIRs for something as small as wall writing or a Facebook post,” John told The PIE News.
Just a few months ago, DU proposed major changes to its postgraduate syllabi, including suggestions to remove entire papers and critical units on themes such as religious nationalism, internal conflict, caste dynamics, and LGBTQ+ studies.
The university’s history department head also resigned amid the debate, though the professor cited medical reasons for stepping down.
“We now have people placed in teaching positions who push partisan narratives. The curriculum is being diluted, syllabi reframed and passed without deliberation, and there’s no space for questioning the process,” said John.
“Decision-making bodies are packed with the regime’s people, ex officio members who ensure the government’s agenda on knowledge production goes unchallenged.”
In its 2025 update, AFi reported significant declines in academic freedom in 36 of 179 countries since 2024. Academic freedom improved in only eight countries between 2014 and 2024.
The AFi rated 10 countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, and Iran, as completely restricted, and another eight, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia, and Zimbabwe, as severely restricted.
While it’s true that higher education around the world is under grave threat, the current moment is also an opportunity for the global academic community to come together and build solidarity
Clare Robinson, Scholars at Risk
While in Serbia, students protesting government corruption were discredited by the ruling administration, which threatened to defund state universities and withheld salaries of professors supporting the demonstrations, in Pakistan, reports emerged of repeated abductions of Baloch student activists, with similar abductions by militant groups also documented in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Cameroon.
In Bangladesh, the quota reform movement led by university students, which eventually forced then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to flee, saw violent crackdowns involving live ammunition, water cannons, and pepper spray, with comparable scenes unfolding in Georgia, where students in Tbilisi protested alleged election fraud in the national polls.
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Russian forces carried out drone and artillery strikes on major Ukrainian universities, including Donbas State Pedagogical University and Sumy State University in late 2024, while the Ukrainian government introduced measures to retain students and strengthen national defence, mandating military training for all university students starting in 2025, with those refusing facing expulsion and disqualification from government jobs requiring a higher education degree.
The report has also highlighted Palestinian students, scholars, and universities facing severe challenges amid Israel’s ongoing military action in Gaza and raids in the West Bank.
By 2024–25, Gaza’s higher education infrastructure was largely destroyed, while raids, arrests, and movement restrictions in the West Bank severely disrupted academic life.
The AFi now classifies the West Bank as “severely restricted” and Gaza as “completely restricted”.
“While it’s true that higher education around the world is under grave threat, the current moment is also an opportunity for the global academic community to come together and build solidarity,” stated Clare Robinson, SAR advocacy director.
“Protecting higher education requires the sector to take three steps: better communicate the value of academic freedom to the public, reject isolationism and build solidarity with their peers, and secure formal legal protections for academic freedom and autonomy based on the Principles for Implementing the Right to Academic Freedom,” she added.
The post Academic freedom “shrinking” in US and India, new report warns appeared first on The PIE News.