By Gurnam Singh | Opinion |
As we try to digest the events that have been unfolding over the past few weeks, I couldn’t help making comparisons with the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the death of Jason Arday yesterday. Like after the case of Floyd, no doubt there will be considerable soul-searching regarding Arday by liberal elites, whilst for racialised minorities, such cases are part of the lived experience.
In truth, though not in a physical sense, sections of UK academia are as violent as any other space, but this is mostly visible only to those who experience it. I am not talking about public schoolboy bullying, which is unacceptable, but a symbolic and institutional violence that reminds you every day that you don’t really belong, that you have entered through the back door, through some special scheme, and that you should be thankful for what you have achieved.
Like many others, I am deeply saddened and angered by the untimely death of Jason Arday. In a brief time, he went from being celebrated as an inspirational figure who overcame immense adversity in life to a media-generated folk devil, seemingly part of a plot to ‘destroy UK HE’.
I had brief connections with Jason, the last ones being at two conferences, King’s College on 10 July and Warwick on 4 June, where the photograph (insert, above) was taken with him and my colleague, Dr Harjinder Singh Lali.
SEE ALSO: Jason Arday, professor at centre of Cambridge plagiarism row, found dead (The Guardian)
Jason was a humble, thoughtful and gentle human being whose ambition was to make academia more humane and accessible. But in recent months, he was subjected to intense public criticism, caricature, misrepresentation and scrutiny in relation to allegations of plagiarism that few could have survived intact. It is important to remember that, whatever his detractors allege, these allegations were under investigation and had not been officially proven.
I have no doubt at all that, had Jason Arday been a white middle-class person, he would be alive today, and his CV and alleged plagiarism would not have been subjected to the kind of public scrutiny and shaming that nobody deserves. Unlike many of the elites in our society, such as those linked to the likes of Jeffrey Epstein, he didn’t commit any criminal offences or financial fraud, yet even so-called responsible media outlets, such as the BBC and Guardian, allowed the story to become headline news and fester.
There are many examples of academic misconduct that don’t even get beyond the respective institutions, including Oxbridge! In my view, the relentless attention and hostility directed towards him reflected a right-wing backlash against making UK HE more inclusive.
There is also the issue of social media and a broader culture of targeted public condemnation and shaming that can have profound consequences for those at its centre. Whatever differences of opinion people may have held, Jason’s passing is a tragic loss. My thoughts are with his family, friends, colleagues and all those whose lives he touched. You will not be forgotten.
Rest in peace, Jason.
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Gurnam Singh is an academic activist dedicated to human rights, liberty, equality, social and environmental justice. He is a Professor of Sociology at University of Warwick, UK. He can be contacted at Gurnam.singh.1@warwick.ac.uk
* This is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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