Former Ashoka University Professor Arvind Subramanian Joins Brown University as Senior Fellow
- The appointment comes a few months after the economist resigned from the Haryana-based university, in response to the forced resignation of political scientist and Modi government critic Pratap Bhanu Mehta.
Economist Arvind Subramanian will join Brown University’s Watson Institute as a senior fellow on 1 July. In his new role, he will continue to teach and engage in policy research focused on South Asia.
The news of Subramanian’s appointment was announced by Ashutosh Varshney, director, Center for Contemporary South Asia at the University. “Delighted to announce that on July 1, Arvind Subramanian will join @BrownUniversity as a senior fellow @WatsonInstitute, in partnership with @SouthAsiaBrown,” Varshney wrote. “We greatly greatly look forward to his teaching and intellectual affiliation with us.”
Subramanian had tweeted about the new opportunity in April, but he did not specify the exact timeline. “With sadness & sense of opportunity unrealized, I leave Ashoka University. Look forward to new roles at Watson Institute, Brown University as Faculty as Senior Fellow & Center for Global Development as Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow. Hope to continue teaching, researching & engaging on economic development & India”, he wrote on April 15.
The appointment comes a few months after Subramanian resigned from the faculty of the Sonipat, Haryana-based university, following the resignation of political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who stepped down on March 16, almost two years after he had resigned as its Vice Chancellor. Subramanian’s exit from the university became public on March 18. He had joined the university in July last year as a professor in the Department of Economics. He is also the founding director of the new Ashoka Centre for Economic Policy, devoted to researching policy issues related to India and global development.
In a letter written to Ashoka University’s Vice Chancellor Malabika Sarkar, Subramaniam wrote about how Mehta’s resignation had “devastated” him. “Ashoka can no longer provide a space for academic expression and freedom,” he wrote. “It is clear it is time for me to leave Ashoka. A liberal university will need a liberal political and social context to flourish. I hope the university will play a role in securing that environment.”
The resignations shook the university as well as students and other economists. The Ashoka University Student Government charged the founders, chancellor and vice chancellor with failure in protecting the varsity faculty from external pressure.