Despite the rain, students turned out in large numbers for the book discussion held outside the School of Social Sciences 2.
| Photo Credit: Ashna Butani
A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) cancelled permission to hold an auditorium discussion on a book by former student Umar Khalid, the students’ union went ahead with the plan and held the talk outdoors on Monday. Despite the rain, students turned out in large numbers for the event held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. outside the School of Social Sciences 2 to discuss Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power.
The talk was held amid protests by the RSS-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, whose members chanted slogans calling Mr. Khalid a “terrorist”. The former JNU student is lodged in Tihar Jail in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’ case and has been awaiting trial for nearly six years.
Some students raised objections to the absence of tribal community members from the panel to discuss a book on Adivasis.'Hypocritical stance’Students from other colleges also attended the discussion. Delhi University student Aryan Singh said while he was at first sceptical about travelling all the way due to reports about the last-minute cancellation, he decided to come anyway. “I had to turn up because he [Mr. Khalid] has been waiting six years for a trial. It is hypocritical that the same JNU where he completed his research is trying to erase his thesis,” he said.
