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After Donald Trump’s assault on institutions of higher education in the United States, a curious excitement can be noticed in certain circles in India. Those who live by the maxim that another’s calamity is their opportunity have begun to imagine that the distinguished teachers and researchers resigning from or being forced out of the American universities because of Donald Trump’s campaign of “Americanisation” can now be lured to India, especially those of Indian origin.

It has been reported that Harvard University has made substantial cuts in PhD admissions across several disciplines. Harvard claims that it faces a shortage of funds and is therefore compelled to economise on its research programmes. But critics insist that the crisis is not of funds but of vision. It is now evident that, because of Trump’s narrow and nationalist policies, independent research has become increasingly impossible. 

The so-called financial constraint is only the result of a policy under which government aid will henceforth go only to those institutions willing to abandon “liberal” and “leftist” perspectives. Some universities have already chosen to compromise with the government. And this compromise is not confined to teaching and research in the social sciences or the humanities; it is seeping into the sciences as well.

The result is that economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo are leaving MIT for the University of Zurich. MIT has refused to accept several of Trump’s conditions and will therefore suffer financial losses. Other scholars, too, are turning away from American institutions and seeking refuge in other countries.

Also read: What the Entry of Foreign Universities into India Can do to Education

Trump’s tightening of visa policies has also created new barriers for non-American scholars. The spirit of diversity that once........

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