Increased governmental interference in IIMs not a positive step. I urge the government to rethink the IIM Bill and maintain autonomy.

DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin expressed serious concern on June 22, 2015, over the Union government's proposed Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) Bill, warning that excessive bureaucratic interference in premier educational institutions would severely compromise their academic excellence and global standing. Stalin urged the central government to fundamentally reconsider the contentious legislative draft and preserve the administrative and academic autonomy of the country's premier management institutes.

Stalin pointed out that the draft legislation sought to empower the Union Human Resource Development Ministry with overarching veto powers over fee structures, faculty appointments, curriculum design, and the selection of directors and board chairpersons. Such centralization and political micromanagement would dismantle decades of institutional excellence, stifling intellectual freedom and discouraging eminent global scholars and corporate leaders from serving on institutional boards.

Stalin emphasized that higher educational institutions can flourish only in an environment of independence, critical inquiry, and academic freedom, free from governmental overreach and political interference. He demanded that the Union government respect institutional autonomy, consult leading academics and alumni, and redraft the bill to protect institutional integrity and academic excellence throughout the nation.