JNU cancels auditorium booking for Umar Khalid book event
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has cancelled the booking of the SSS-1 auditorium for a discussion on Umar Khalid’s book Fractured Communities, scheduled to be held on August 10.
The event was scheduled from 3 pm to 6 pm and was to be organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) as a public discussion marking Tribal Day, or Adivasi Diwas. The JNU administration cited “non-disclosure” of programme details and transparency issues regarding university spaces. Officials stated that the organisers failed to mention the book link in the initial venue request form.
In a post on its official X handle on Sunday, the JNU said the booking of the SSS-I auditorium had been cancelled because “full facts” about the programme scheduled for August 10 had not been disclosed.
“JNU is a democratic and decentralised institution. The permission was given by the Dean, SSS, who has taken action as well in cancelling the event,” the university said. “The booking of the auditorium SSS-1 stands cancelled because of non-disclosure of the full facts about the programme which is going to take place on 10th August 2026 from 3 pm to 6 pm,” it added. The administration alleged that the programme was camouflaged as a general discussion on Adivasi communities without revealing its connection to Khalid. Khalid has been in jail since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case.
The booking request had been filed by Dr Avinash Kumar of JNU’s Centre for Informal Sector and Labour Studies (CISLS), School of Social Sciences, describing the purpose of the event on the official form as a ‘Public Talk for Adivasi Diwas (Book Discussion).’ The form was countersigned by the Dean of the School of Social Sciences on August 7, 2026, and the Dealing Assistant had confirmed the auditorium’s availability for the date, with a note that the booking be considered further before final approval.
According to an event’s poster circulated, the event was to take place at the SSS-1 auditorium of the university on August 10, from 3 pm onwards. As per the poster, the guest speakers were Professor Prabhu Mohapatra, Professor Uma Chakravarti, Shuddharbrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander, and Banojyotsana Lahiri.
As soon as the event poster surfaced, ABVP JNU raised the issue prominently across its social media platforms and demanded the immediate cancellation of the event from the university administration.
Following persistent protests and efforts by ABVP JNU, the event was cancelled. ABVP JNU also condemned the administrative officials who initially granted permission for an event aimed at glorifying anti-national elements.
ABVP JNU President Mayank Panchal said, “The campus of JNU cannot become a platform for glorifying an individual who is an accused in cases related to serious anti-national activities and violence. We raised our voice against this programme and clearly conveyed our objections to the university administration. The cancellation of the programme is a victory for ABVP’s sustained efforts.”
The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) alleged that the cancellation was an “arbitrary and authoritarian” decision by the administration and accused it of attempting to suppress academic discussion and dissent.
The discussion on the book “Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power”, being organised by JNUSU on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, was scheduled to be held at the School of Social Sciences-I (SSS-I) auditorium from 3 pm.
The JNUSU, in a statement, claimed that the Dean of the School of Social Sciences had himself instructed that the auditorium booking be made in the format in which it was submitted and questioned the administration’s explanation for the cancellation. The union also alleged “double standards”, claiming that the administration had extended cooperation and space on campus for ISKCON events while denying a venue for the book discussion.
