Central University cancels invite to Hindutva critic

TIRUVARUR: Having extended an invitation to scholar and activist A Marx  to speak on Buddhism, the Central University of Tamil Nadu  retracted it at the eleventh hour.

The Department of Social Work, School of Social Sciences, Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) along with National Foundation for Communal Harmony (An autonomous organization under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India) organised a two-day National Conference-cum-Symposium on Interfaith Dialogue on Communal Harmony and National Integration  on October 15-16, 2019.

Professor A Marx, a human rights activist and writer was invited to deliver a speech by Conference Director P Sigamani, who is also the Head social work department. An e-mail was sent to Professor Marx on September 23, 2019. He also accepted the invitation and was scheduled to speak on Buddhism on October 16.

Meanwhile on the eve of the conference Professor A Marx received a phone call from the University that the invitation extended to him as an ‘invited speaker’ was cancelled. Marx told TNIE that no reason was attributed to the cancellation of the invitation. “Hindutva forces might have given pressure to cancel my lecture”, said Marx, a critic of Hindutva politics.

Sigamani said that 2 speakers were invited to talk on Buddhism. He said he did not know the reason for the cancellation of the invitation.