JNU cancels permission for talk on Umar Khalid’s book

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday cancelled permission for an August 10 discussion on the book ‘Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power’ by former student Umar Khalid organised by the student union (SU) “because of non-disclosure of the full facts” about the programme

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday cancelled permission for an August 10 discussion on the book ‘Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power’ by former student Umar Khalid organised by the student union (SU) “because of non-disclosure of the full facts” about the programme. The JNUSU said the discussion will now be held outside the School of Social Sciences building.

The JNUSU said the discussion will now be held outside the School of Social Sciences building. (PTI)

In a post on X, the university said, “JNU is a democratic and decentralised institution. The permission was given by Dean, SSS who has taken action as well in cancelling the event.”

It added, “The booking of the auditorium SSS-1 stands cancelled because of non-disclosure of the full facts about the program which is going to take place on 10th August 2026 from 3 pm to 6 pm.”

In the post, the administration also shared a letter, addressed to faculty representative, SSS professor Avinash Kumar, that said that the event had been cancelled. The letter dated August 9 further said, “This issues with the approval of the Dean, SSS,” and is signed by the joint registrar, SSS, MK Pachauri.

When asked for comment, JNU shared a link of the post on X with HT and did not elaborate further.

Describing the decision as an attempt to suppress critical thought and academic freedom, JNUSU said the discussion will now be held outside another School of Social Sciences building.

“The JNUSU strongly condemns the arbitrary and authoritarian decision of the JNU administration to cancel the booking of the SSS-1 auditorium for a scheduled discussion on Umar Khalid’s book on the World Adivasi Day. The administration’s stated reason that ‘full details’ were not disclosed at the time of booking, rings hollow,” it said in a statement.

“However, cancelling a room does not cancel a conversation. The discussion will proceed as planned, outside the SSS-IIbuilding, in the open where ideas cannot be locked away,” the union added.

The university had granted permission on August 7 for the event “Public Talk for Adivasi Diwas (Book Discussion)” in the SSS-1 auditorium from 3pm to 6pm, according to the copy of the approval letter shared by the administration on X and also a copy seen by HT.

According to a poster of the event, there are five speakers for the event — Delhi University history professor Prabhu Mahapatra, historian Uma Chakravarti, former JNU student and Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri, activist Harsh Mander, and writer Shuddhabrata Sengupta.

Khalid has been in jail since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a conspiracy case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Meanwhile, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) backed the administration’s decision to revoke permission.

ABVP JNU president Mayank Panchal said, “The campus of JNU cannot become a platform for glorifying an individual who is an accused in cases related to serious anti-national activities and violence. We clearly conveyed our objections to the university administration.”