Overheard At ISI
“How many signatures do we have now on the petition for reinstatement?”
“22”“What! Out of 174 faculty members?”
“There are others who want to sign but are scared”“But isn’t it a toned down version of what is online?”
“Yes, but still there is apprehension”.“It’s unusual for him to be late. He had asked me to meet him at 1 pm”:
A research scholar waiting for ousted director Bimal Kumar Roy.
(Listening in on an animated discussion in the canteen about a protest demonstration later in the week)
***
At the main campus of the Indian Statistical Institute in bustling Baranagar on the outskirts of Calcutta, the atmosphere is a bit tense. The ‘emergency’ decision by the Union ministry of statistics and programme...

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