In the past few decades, Azim Premji has earned himself the image of a ‘giver’, a great philanthropist. A capitalist who gives away most of his wealth for the greater good of society. So simple, they say, that he drives a second-hand Mercedes, so humble that he lives in a ₹350-crore ‘simple’ and ‘sustainable’ house.
How do we know all this? Through news articles that flood our feeds, repeated often enough to feel like truth. So the question is, why would a truly modest and giving person want the world to constantly be reminded that they are those things? Let us leave that to the conscience of the readers.
Rather let us look at one of his most publicised philanthropic ventures: Azim Premji University. Established in 2010, after the Azim Premji University Bill was passed in the Karnataka Legislature. It began with an inspiring claim. Dileep Ranjekar, the then-CEO of the Azim Premji Foundation, told The Times of India, “This [university] is not meant for the elite. We will give preference to people from rural areas who will go back to work in those places.”
Fast forward fifteen years. Today, the fee for a four-year undergraduate course stands at ₹17,11,200. The fees for two-year MA and MSc programs are ₹4,33,000 and ₹6,75,000 respectively, while the one-year MBA program costs ₹5,80,000. And these are only tuition and accommodation fees, food is not included. Yes, this is the fee structure of a ‘philanthropic’ institute meant for the marginalized, not the elites.
In its early years, the University was more liberal and transparent in its decisions. Many students from marginalised sections were getting full scholarships through a transparent process. Student organised protests were not cracked down on. But, as with many corporate models, it now feels like a brand-building strategy, much like the Jio model: offer people freedom and affordability in the beginning, and laterhit them with soaring charges.
Today, the student council functions merely as a messenger between the administration and students, without the power to influence policies. This is especially disheartening considering that both the student body and faculty worked for years on drafting a constitution for the council. Despite multiple reviews, drafts, meetings, and clarification sessions, the administration kept delaying its implementation. When the final version was ready, one that included several progressive provisions, the administration unilaterally removed key elements without even consulting the students. What was ultimately formalised was a watered-down version, resulting in the tokenistic and powerless council we see today.
Now, course fees have skyrocketed, and the number of students receiving scholarships has dropped. There is no transparency on how many students are on scholarships or the criteria for receiving (or being denied) one. In the past year alone, we saw multiple students raising money for fees whose parents are security guards, domestic workers, etc., because they did not get financial aid. Even when students get scholarships, they are made to sign an agreement that gives the University the right to revoke their aid without explanation, e.g.- students involved in any form of ‘disruption’ (read protests) can be penalised. The lack of transparency in the finances of the university, the discrepancy in allocation of funds, is so arbitrary as well. An example of this is where the sports fest of 3-4 days, Esprit gets lakhs of funding while the university’s own frisbee team had to fundraise to go for an international tournament. They were unable to meet the required target amount and were unable to participate in the tournament.
In 2023, there was a mass protest that lasted 12–13 days (including an indefinite hunger strike) against the unjust shuttle fee. While the administration initially agreed to some demands, they targeted 12 scholarship students involved in the protest. They were taken one by one into a closed room with a camera already set up, and forced to write apology letters. If they refused, they were threatened with semester suspension and their fees were not waived. This came at a time when we were too devastated to react having lost a dear friend and fellow protestor. But the student body must make sure such things do not happen again. Any injustice against a student, worker, or teacher must be collectively resisted, especially when it involves students on scholarships. Any discriminatory treatment of scholarship students is not just unjust, it is a deliberate assertion of control. It reeks of upper-class and upper-caste domination over marginalised students. Both scholarship and non-scholarship students participated in the protest. They even peacefully gheraoed the Vice Chancellor. Yet only the scholarship students were punished.
The students must realise that the university is no saint. Education is our right. The scholarships exist because corporations like Wipro receive massive tax breaks, and they profit from the exploitation of human and natural resources. There should be neither feeling of guilt nor gratitude, only awareness.
The Azim Premji Foundation in Madhya Pradesh, got land worth ₹109 crores for just ₹9 crores. Meanwhile, Wipro laid off thousands of employees in FY 2024, reducing its workforce from around 2,48,800 to 2,34,000. In 2023, it slashed fresher salaries from ₹6.5 LPA to ₹3.5 LPA for over 4,000 recruits. Wipro is also complicit in Israel’s brutalities in Palestine. In 2017, it partnered with Ramot, Tel Aviv University’s tech transfer arm, to work on AI and emerging tech. In 2021, it signed an MoU with Tel Aviv University’s Centre for Quantum Science & Technology. These are clear endorsements of a settler-colonial state.
The money that funds these ‘philanthropic’ ventures is the product of worker exploitation, land grabs, layoffs, wage cuts, and alliances with genocidal regimes. There should be no shame in accepting a scholarship, but also no glorification of the giver. Inside classrooms, students are still taught about justice, equality, dignity, social change, etc, at least in the few courses that have survived. However students are discouraged from practicing those very values on campus. Especially, not when they are on ‘their’ scholarship.
Faculty members aren’t allowed to express political opinions publicly. Those who do are often given notices or asked to leave. The university, which claims to promote social change, keeps its faculty on probation for years, workers on contracts with low wages and harsh working conditions, and marginalises scholarship students.
Another ongoing issue is the food system on campus. After years of student pressure, the university finally brought in a mess model, but serious problems remain. The system is expensive, with fees ranging from ₹22,000 to ₹33,000 per semester, which must be paid upfront. It imposes financial burdens on already struggling scholarship students, while silencing dissent. The same flawed redressal system and tokenistic student representation continue to prevent any real accountability.
Parallely, the university is expanding aggressively. There is already a campus in Bhopal. One in Ranchi is on the way. Plans are underway to expand into the North-east and maybe Kashmir. But when so many issues remain unaddressed at the Bengaluru campus, should not the priority be to make one campus truly accessible and just?
Despite claiming to be inclusive, the university has discriminated against neurodivergent students. The family of a student with autism has accused the university of neglecting his academic and medical needs before unilaterally deregistering him.
The democratic space that exists today is a result of continued student resistance. For that, kudos to the student body. It will become another Ashoka or Jindal, fancy, expensive, top-down institutions masquerading as liberal, unless the student body resists injustice, exposing the truth behind this mirage of philanthropy.
