Gurugram University recently cancelled a talk on the Palestinian conflict by Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Zoya Hasan, The Wire reported on Wednesday.
Titled “Palestinian Struggle for Equal Rights: India and Global Response”, the talk was organised by the university’s Department of Political Science and scheduled to be held on November 12. However, on November 10, Hasan received a call from the organisers, informing her that the event had been cancelled.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the university’s vice chancellor Dinesh Kumar, who was described as the “chief patron” on the invite, said his approval was not sought for the event.
“A teacher at the university arranged the discussion, and I was not aware of this as I was not present on campus,” Kumar told the newspaper. “But we cancelled it later as the topic was controversial.”
Hasan, professor emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said that she was approached by the Department of Political Science after an opinion piece written by her on the Palestinian conflict was published in a newspaper.
“They told me it was extremely important to have this discussion on the Indian response to the Palestinian conflict, on both a government and non-government level, and I readily agreed to it,” Hasan told The Indian Express. “The organiser called me again on November 5 to inquire about the title of the lecture and confirmed arrangements for the talk, including transportation, scheduled for 12 November.”
Hasan said the organiser told her that they received approval for the event. However, around 1 pm on November 10, she was informed that the organiser was not well. “If it was a health issue, why would you cancel a pre-arranged event?” said the professor.
She added: “It is to the credit of the faculty that they were interested in holding a talk on Palestine, though it didn’t happen eventually.”
In October, three seminars at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for West Asian Studies, featuring the Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese Ambassadors to India, were cancelled.
This came against the backdrop of Israel’s military offensive against Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023. The relentless attacks since then have killed more than 40,000 persons, including 16,500 children.
India’s longstanding position has been to support a two-state solution for establishing a sovereign, viable and independent State of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace.