Professor Swaran Singh has been in constant communication with the Japanese official in order to arrange discussions. She presented recordings of their talks as proof when she lodged a complaint with the institution.
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has decided to sack a professor from its School of International Studies over allegations of sexual misconduct involving a Japanese Embassy official, The Indian Express has learnt.
The decision to terminate the services of Prof Swaran Singh was taken after the findings of an investigation conducted by the university’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) were presented at JNU’s Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
“The Japanese official had been in regular contact with the professor to coordinate conferences. She filed a complaint with the university’s ICC and submitted recordings of their conversations as evidence,” a JNU official told The Indian Express. It is learnt that Singh’s dismissal comes just a year away from his retirement.
Three additional faculty members were also disciplined at the Council meeting in accordance with the ICC’s recommendations. A third was ordered to undertake sensitization training after being found guilty of alleged inappropriate behavior under a minor offense, while two were punished by having three annual increments withheld from them. These professors are connected to the Sanskrit Center, the School of Physical Sciences, and the Centre for Historical Studies at JNU, respectively.
“These decisions reflect the administration’s zero tolerance policy against corruption and sexual offences. For the first time, students have been given representation in the ICC, an important step toward preserving JNU’s democratic culture,” Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit told The Indian Express. The Council further resolved that student representatives will now be elected to the ICC.
Prof Swaran Singh was part of the Centre for International Politics, Organization and Disarmament (CIPOD). A faculty member from the School of International Studies, under which CIPOD operates, said the university became aware of the complaint “around May last year”. “The ICC carried out an investigation and found that he had also faced allegations of misconduct earlier, during his time as an associate professor as well,” the official said.
The Indian Express called Singh and left messages for him to comment, but Singh did not answer. A statement was not provided by Amitabh Mattoo, dean of the School of International Studies. Inquiries about the complaint via email were not answered by the Japanese Embassy.
Having worked in academia and research for around thirty years, Singh is a distinguished scholar in international relations. The official JNU website states that he has an MPhil and PhD in International Studies from JNU, as well as an MA in Political Science from the University of Delhi. Additionally, he is a postdoctoral Conflict Resolution graduate of Uppsala, Sweden.
Among his areas of scholarly interest include “arms control & disarmament, conflict resolution & peace studies, multilateralism, Asian affairs, China’s foreign and security policies, India’s defense & nuclear policy.”
Singh started his academic career as a research faculty member at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) in New Delhi, where he worked from 1992 until 2001. In 2001, he became a professor at JNU’s School of International Studies. He has served in a number of high-profile positions, such as Chief Vigilance Officer at JNU from 2012 to 2014, Asia Fellow at Beijing University from 2001 to 2002, and Visiting Professor at the University of British Columbia from 2022 to 2023. He also collaborated internationally with the Centre de Sciences Humaines in New Delhi from 2005 to 2008.
In addition, he was General Secretary of the Indian Congress of Asian and Pacific Studies and President of the Association of Asian Studies. Peer-reviewed articles and co-authored papers on “Covid-19 and India-China Equations: Examining their Interface in the Indian Ocean Region” and “Indo-US Cooperation in Countering Cyberterrorism: Challenges and Limitations” are among Singh’s publications. “India and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific,” “Politics of Climate Change,” and “China and the Indo-Pacific” are some of his most recent peer-reviewed books and articles.
