When India’s premier publicly funded social sciences institution the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) becomes a venue for sectarian training of priests and missionaries, serious questions arise. Who authorised this? Why is taxpayer money being used to fund religious-political indoctrination under the banner of “social justice”?
At the centre of this controversy stands Brinelle D’Souza, a long-time faculty member at TISS’s School of Social Work Centre for Health and Mental Health, and West India Regional Coordinator of the Justice Coalition of Religious (JCR) a Church-linked network.
https://twitter.com/MehHarshil/status/1983182610311590143
In November 2024, TISS reportedly hosted a closed-door workshop exclusively for Catholic Sisters, Brothers, and Priests, jointly organised by TISS and the Justice Coalition of Religious (JCR). The sessions were not academic seminars but politically loaded discussions on topics such as:
- Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)
- NPR and NRC
- FCRA cancellations
- “Attacks on Institutions”
- “Church Hierarchy and Resistance”
Among the speakers was Prasad Chacko, an individual booked by the Gujarat Government for alleged involvement in Left-Wing Extremist activities.
- The fundamental question arises: Why is a publicly funded institute — meant for secular, academic education — training clergy in political issues and resistance movements?
- Who authorised this event, and under what mandate?
Brinelle D’Souza joined TISS in 1999. Over 26 years, she has no record of research papers on Google Scholar or the TISS website. She also does not hold a PhD, a basic qualification expected of senior faculty at India’s top universities.
Yet, her “academic” work appears limited to activism particularly activism aligned with Christian organisations and Leftist causes.
As per her public profile, D’Souza serves as West India Regional Coordinator for JCR the same organisation that co-organised the Catholic-only workshop with TISS. This creates a direct conflict of interest: a public servant using her institutional position to promote sectarian and political activism.
The controversy around D’Souza is not limited to the workshop. Her track record reveals a consistent pattern of anti-establishment and ideologically slanted activism:
- Anti-CAA Protests (2020): D’Souza was photographed holding a poster titled “भगवा Violence,” portraying the CAA protests as an outcome of “Hindutva extremism.” She appeared in an NDTV interview around the same period, spreading misinformation about the Act that aimed to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries.
- Post-Article 370 Report (2019): Following the abrogation of Article 370, D’Souza authored a report accusing the Indian government of “oppression” in Kashmir — a narrative in line with the separatist ecosystem.
- Opposition to PM Modi’s Presence at Christmas Event (2024): In December 2024, D’Souza publicly opposed Prime Minister Modi’s attendance at a Christmas reception, citing “persecution of Christians in India.” The narrative was amplified by Muslim Mirror, a fringe portal, which ran a story titled “Inviting PM Modi to Christmas reception ignores plight of persecuted Christians” a piece linking “Hindutva nationalism” to “attacks on Christians.”
Together, these actions show a faculty member not committed to scholarship or pedagogy, but to political activism under an institutional shield.
The School of Social Work and its School of Social Justice at TISS have long been accused by students and alumni of ideological bias. But this goes far beyond classroom indoctrination. The workshops in question show formal collaboration between a public university and a religious-political network to train Church hierarchy in political resistance.
This is not social work it is political mobilisation funded by public money. The presence of a known activist like D’Souza in dual roles as TISS faculty and regional coordinator of JCR raises questions of ethics, neutrality, and legality.
Under the 2023 Central Service Conduct Rules (CSS), public-funded academics are barred from overt political or sectarian activity that undermines neutrality. D’Souza’s role in religious-political training workshops may therefore constitute a violation of these rules.
Who approved these workshops?
- No public record on the TISS website lists such events, approvals, or oversight committee notes.
- Who sanctioned these workshops?
- Was the TISS Director’s office informed?
- Did the HR or Finance department clear use of institute infrastructure for JCR-linked programmes?
If not, this represents a direct misuse of institutional authority. If yes, then it reflects a larger structural rot where ideology, not education, drives the institute’s priorities. TISS receives generous grants from the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education. It operates on taxpayer money not on Church donations or NGO grants.
When such funds are channelled into sectarian political training under academic cover, it becomes a question of public accountability. Are we paying professors or activists?
The case of Brinelle D’Souza symbolises the slow erosion of academic integrity at TISS. From being one of India’s finest social sciences institutes, TISS today stands accused of:
- Promoting ideological activism over research;
- Hosting politically driven workshops under the garb of social work;
- Allowing faculty to use its platform for religious-political agendas.
This is not an isolated issue it is a symptom of how India’s public-funded academia is being quietly captured by ideological networks, where the pursuit of truth is replaced by activism, and neutrality by narrative.
(The story is based on a twitter thread by Harshil)
