JNU cancels event on Umar Khalid’s book, says full information not disclosed
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cancelled a student-organized book discussion featuring former student Umar Khalid, citing a failure to disclose full details about the event. The book, authored by Khalid while in custody, was intended to be discussed on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
Why it matters
The cancellation highlights ongoing tensions regarding academic freedom and political discourse on Indian university campuses.
NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has cancelled a student-organised discussion on a book authored by former student Umar Khalid, scheduled on the campus on Monday, citing “non-disclosure of the full facts” about the programme.The discussion was centred on Khalid’s book, Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power, based on his PhD thesis submitted at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies in 2018. Khalid has been in custody since Sept 2020 in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The event was scheduled from 3pm to 6pm at the School of Social Sciences (SSS)-I auditorium.The university, in a post on its official X handle on Sunday, said the auditorium booking had been cancelled “because of non-disclosure of the full facts about the programme”. It posted, “JNU is a democratic and decentralised institution.
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