JNU students hold talk on Umar Khalid's book at another spot after venue cancellation

NEW DELHI: The JNU Students' Union on Monday went ahead with a scheduled discussion on a book authored by former student Umar Khalid despite the cancellation of the original venue booking, with hundreds of students attending the event at an alternate location, which they said was disrupted by the ABVP.

The discussion on Khalid's book "Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power" began around 3 pm as scheduled. The event was organised to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, according to the students' union.

The university had cancelled the booking of the School of Social Sciences-I auditorium, where the discussion was originally scheduled, saying "full facts" about the programme had not been disclosed.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) had subsequently announced that it would hold the discussion outside the School of Social Sciences-II building, saying the cancellation would not prevent the event from taking place.

In a statement issued on Monday, the students' union alleged that ABVP members attempted to disrupt the event, including by trying to snatch the microphone from a speaker and allegedly misbehaving with panellists.

"Despite their attempts at disruptions, our panellists and the students stood their ground and continued the event," the JNUSU said.

The union also alleged that the administration's decision to withdraw permission for the venue was aimed at curtailing academic spaces and the culture of debate and dissent on campus.

The ABVP, however, rejected the allegations of attempting to incite violence or disrupt the event.

An ABVP member from JNU said the students could have chosen several books for a discussion to mark Adivasi Diwas, including works on tribal leader Birsa Munda, but "instead they chose to have a discussion on a book by Umar Khalid, charged with UAPA, which creates a dent in JNU's image".

The ABVP member said the administration cancelled the original booking after the student organisation pointed out that complete details about the programme had not been provided.

"If the administration had cancelled the event because complete facts were not disclosed, then why were they allowed to continue the event outside the SSS building? Where were the administration and guards on Monday?" the ABVP member said, alleging a "JNU administration-Left nexus".

The ABVP member also denied that the organisation tried to create any disruptions, saying some students were conducting their programme outside the building, while others needed to attend classes.

The panel at the discussion included professors Prabhu Mahapatra and Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, and social activists Harsh Mander and Banojyotsna, according to the event poster.

Khalid, a former JNU student leader, has been in jail since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. He is yet to face trial.