Hundreds of students attending discussion on jailed activist Umar Khalid’s book at JNU
New Delhi: Hundreds of students are attending a discussion on jailed activist Umar Khalid’s book outside Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Social Sciences-II building after the university denied the organisers access to an auditorium booked for the event, citing the “non-disclosure of full facts” about the programme.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the discussion was organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU).
Umar Khalid, a former JNU student and prominent human rights activist, has been imprisoned under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) charges since 2020. His PhD thesis was published as a book in June under the title “Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power.”
A large number of students gathered outside Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) School of Social Sciences-II building for a discussion on JNU alumnus jailed activist Umar Khalid’s book, Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power on Monday (August 10), after the university withdrew permission to host the discussion in an auditorium.
Permission was earlier given for the event to mark Adivasi Divas, but the university later claimed that “full facts” about it were not disclosed when students booked a hall. The event was then moved by the students to the new location. Maktoob reports that “hundreds of students” gathered for the event.
“By cancelling the venue for this event, the JNU administration has once again exposed its anti-student and anti-intellectual agenda, one that seeks to suppress critical thought and silence dissenting voices rather than foster the free exchange of ideas that a university is meant to protect,” JNUSU had said in a statement.
JNUSU had also said in a post on X that the event “would be held tomorrow“, August 10. The statement also said that “cancelling a room does not cancel a conversation”.
