LSE Student Criticises ‘Biased’ Handling of Hate Campaign

Written by Melissa Limani

Satyam Surana, an Indian student who was pursuing his LLM at LSE at the time of the alleged incident, has criticised the institution’s handling of his complaints regarding alleged hate campaigns and smear tactics during LSESU elections held in March 2024. He described the investigation as biased and criticised LSE for favouring the accused while disregarding his evidence.

Surana alleges that during the elections he was subjected to targeted harassment, including derogatory slogans like, “We don’t want a Hindu nationalist or an Indian nationalist in the student union”. He considers this an attack on both his religious and national identity. 

Despite presenting what he described as “irrefutable evidence,” including CCTV footage requests, screenshots of hate messages, and social media IDs of those involved, he says the university dismissed most of his claims. LSE deemed the evidence insufficient and justified the remarks as being within the bounds of “freedom of expression”.

Surana claims the investigation, which began after the elections in March 2024, dragged on for 10 months, culminating in a December 2024 decision that ignored most of his complaints. According to him, the delay was deliberate, allowing many of the accused students to graduate and evade accountability. 

Surana noted the university addressed only one specific allegation of vandalism involving his campaign posters but ultimately took no action, citing the lack of security footage and the accused student’s graduation as reasons for dropping the matter.

Surana further argues this bias is part of a larger issue across global academic institutions, which he says are dominated by “pro-left ideologies”. He criticised these institutions for being intolerant towards individuals with a vocal Hindu or Indian identity. He also accused faculty members at some universities of harbouring anti-India sentiments, which he believes stem from broader anti-Hindu ideologies.

Additionally, Surana revealed he had faced warnings from LSE over his social media posts, in which he criticised how the pro-Palestine movement was being used to generate sympathy for radical Islamist organisations. He called out what he perceived as double standards in handling Hinduphobia compared to Islamophobia, questioning why “hate speech” against one religion was allowed under the guise of free expression.

Surana’s allegations come after his widely recognised act of retrieving the Indian flag during a 2023 attack on the Indian High Commission in London by Khalistani extremists. He believes this act further singled him out as a target for hate campaigns.

His claims have sparked discussions about the treatment of minority identities in academic spaces and the limits of free speech on campuses. 

An LSE Spokesperson said:

“We are confident that all student complaints are pursued proportionately  and appropriately investigated without bias, and following School procedure.”

“Freedom of speech is of the utmost importance to LSE. We have clear policies in place to ensure the facilitation of debates and enable all members of our community to refute ideas lawfully, to protect individual’s rights to freedom of expression within the law. This includes the right to challenge political views and beliefs, which is particularly relevant during an election period.”

“Likewise, we take all reports of discrimination harassment extremely seriously, as outlined in our Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy. Any religious discrimination or harassment have no place at LSE.”

“Any students who have experienced or witnessed this are strongly encouraged to get in touch, either anonymously or directly, via one of our many channels, such as Report and Support.
 

An LSE student has criticised LSE's handling of his complaints against "hate campaigns" during LSESU elections in March 2024.

Share:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

On Key

Related Posts

How Will Burberry Stitch Up Falling Profits? 

Georgie examines Burberry’s recent sharp profit decline, uncovering why the brand has struggled compared to its high-fashion counterparts and analysing Burberry’s attempt to regain profitability.

scroll to top