jnu-cancels-khalid-s-book-talks-cites-non-disclosure-of-facts

The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has cancelled the booking of its School of Social Sciences auditorium for a discussion on former student Umar Khalid’s book Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power, citing “non-disclosure of the full facts about the programme”.

 

The event was scheduled for August 10 from 3 pm to 6 pm as part of a discussion marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The university said the auditorium booking was cancelled because the organisers had not disclosed all details of the programme.

 

In a statement on Sunday, JNU said the university is a “democratic and decentralised institution” and that permission for the venue had initially been granted by the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, who later cancelled the booking. The university, however, did not specify which details it believed had not been disclosed.

 

The event poster listed Professor Prabhu Mohapatra, Professor Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander and Banojyotsana Lahiri among the speakers. The booking had been confirmed on August 7.

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The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) criticised the administration’s decision, calling it “arbitrary” and “authoritarian”. It said discussions on books are an essential part of academic culture and accused the administration of attempting to suppress critical thought and dissent.

 

The students’ union also alleged that the university had applied its rules selectively, pointing to an ISKCON programme that it said had received cooperation from the administration. JNUSU further accused the administration of an “anti-Adivasi” approach and said cancelling the auditorium would not stop the discussion.

 

The union announced that the discussion would go ahead outside the SSS-II building in an open space.

 

Khalid, a former JNU student, is the author of Fractured Communities, a work examining Adivasi histories, resistance and the politics of power.

 

The cancellation comes days after JNU cancelled another event involving ISKCON following objections from the students’ union over alleged violations of university rules governing the use of campus facilities by religious organisations.