NEW DELHI: A scheduled Independence Day lecture by noted academic Zoya Hasan at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya on Friday was called off due to security concerns.
According to a source, Hasan had been invited to speak on “Pluralism” as part of the institution’s Independence Day programme. However, the event was cancelled shortly before it was to begin after the presence of a small group of protesters outside the school premises prompted security-related intervention.
The source also claimed that the decision to cancel the lecture was taken after inputs from the police regarding potential law and order issues. The source also alleged that the move came despite the presence of adequate security personnel at the venue.
Police officials, however, maintained that the step was precautionary in nature. A senior officer said that local police were deployed outside the school following information about possible protests and advised organisers to take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of students and staff.
While there was no official confirmation on the identity or affiliations of the protesters, sources indicated that a few individuals had gathered near the school gate, raising objections to the event. There were no reports of violence or damage to property.
Professor Apoorvanand from Delhi University said, "The Delhi Police should have restrained the lumpens of the VHP, but they forced the school to cancel the talk by Prof Zoya Hasan. Yet they would like to be respected as a professional force. The children would find out on their own who Prof. Hasan is; they were prevented from meeting."
Meanwhile, an economist, Jayati Ghosh, who posted on X sharing the incident, stated, "A lecture to schoolchildren on pluralism, by one of our most eminent social scientists, is too much for our current leaders to handle."
Manoj Kumar Jha, a member of parliament, also posted on X, stating that the incident was against the ethos and legacy of the school.
The development comes less than a week after a scheduled student-organised discussion at JNU on Khalid’s book was cancelled after the university administration cited “procedural issues” and non-disclosure of details related to the event.
The back-to-back incidents have sparked conversations in academic circles about the space for discussions on campuses and in educational institutions.
The school has not issued an official public statement so far, and the principal Anuradha Joshi did not respond to the calls.
Zoya Hasan is a Professor Emerita of Political Science and served as the Dean of the School of Social Sciences (SSS) at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
She was a member of the National Commission for Minorities from 2006 to 2009. She has worked on research projects for the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Ford Foundation, DFID, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development and the Observer Research Foundation.
Hasan's work has also focused on the state, political parties, ethnicity, gender, and minorities in India, and society in North India.