In another example of the rapidly shrinking tolerance for debate and dissident discourse in Pakistani universities, the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) expelled four students for voicing discontent against the administration of the university. In an order issued by UAF, the four students were accused of “spreading undesirable comments/remarks against the university administration on social media, and bringing a bad name to the university”. This is not the first time the UAF has clamped down on dissent on its campus. In January of last year, the university authorities expelled a gold medalist PhD student who criticised an event organised by the university administration. Although the student in this case was reinstated because of an outpour of support on social media — the fact that the university once again expelled students whose views did not align with the administration’s shows that this is not a one off case, but in fact a deeper and systemic problem. The four students expelled recently by the university were charged on very dubious and amorphous charges of making ‘undesirable comments’ and of ‘bringing a bad name to the university’. What constitutes as an undesirable comment or which action brings a ‘bad name’ to the university are definitions that by nature are highly subjective and thus rely exclusively on the subjective interpretation of the authorities. Thus, whenever the university administration feels its authority is challenged by the student body, it can simply subjugate voices by labelling them as ‘undesirable’ and accusing them of bringing a ‘bad name’ to the university. In effect, this creates a power dynamic where the sole right to wield authority and decide what is right lies with the administration. The expulsion of these students and indeed incidents such as the brutal lynching of Mashal Khan are evidence of rising intolerance in our universities. This intolerance is, in fact, a product of the rising narrow-mindedness that has now come to define Pakistan’s social fabric. Be it the attempts by the FIA to prevent individuals from voicing opinions which are considered ‘anti-Pakistan’, or the abduction of blogger Salman Haider, Pakistan is conceding public space to powers that cannot condone dissent. The fact that this malice has now reached universities-places which are supposed to be the bastions of free speech and for the dissemination of ideas- highlights the uphill battle Pakistan’s civil society faces to reclaim Pakistan’s ideological trajectory. * Published in Daily Times, June 21st, 2017.