JNU students hold outdoor book talk after administration cancels venue

A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cancelled permission for an auditorium discussion on a book by former student Umar Khalid, the students' union went ahead with the plan and held the talk outdoors on Monday. Despite rain, students gathered in large numbers for the event held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. outside the School of Social Sciences 2 to discuss Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power.

The discussion took place amid protests by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), whose members chanted slogans calling Mr. Khalid a “terrorist”. Mr. Khalid, a former JNU student, is lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with the 2020 north-east Delhi riots case and has been awaiting trial for nearly six years.

Students from other colleges also attended the discussion. Delhi University student Aryan Singh said he was initially sceptical about travelling due to reports about the last-minute cancellation, but decided to come anyway. “I had to turn up because he [Mr. Khalid] has been waiting six years for a trial. It is hypocritical that the same JNU where he completed his research is trying to erase his thesis,” he said.

ABVP member Rajeshwar Kant Dubey said, “We have clarified our stance. If the government thinks that Umar Khalid is a terrorist, then who is the JNUSU to give him a clean chit?”

The discussion featured Professor Prabhu Mahapatra, historian Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander and Banojyotsana Lahiri. The panellists spoke about the book, the methodology, and Mr. Khalid’s approach to the subject. Volunteers sold copies at the venue.

JNU student Aniket, who purchased the book, said, “I genuinely wanted to read the thesis to see how he perceives the world. Secondly, I wanted to see how a good academic thesis is written, especially as many are now filled with plagiarism and AI slop.”

Following the discussion, JNUSU joint secretary Danish Ali said it was difficult to organise the talk because of pressure from the administration. “We had all the necessary permissions, and it was cancelled at the last minute on a Sunday, which is not even a working day for them [administration].”

On Sunday, the administration announced the cancellation of the discussion scheduled at the auditorium of the School of Social Sciences 1, citing “non-disclosure of full facts about the programme”. The move drew criticism from the JNUSU.

Meanwhile, Birsa Ambedkar Phule Students’ Association president Kranthi Kumar said that while they oppose the incarceration of political prisoners and stifling of dissent, they agree with the objections regarding the absence of Adivasi teachers and students from the panel.