IIT-BHU cancels literary talk by Gauhar Raza, cites faculty objection
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Varanasi: A lecture by scientist and Urdu poet Gauhar Raza at the Indian Institute of Technology-BHU (IIT-BHU) was cancelled on Tuesday, just hours before it was scheduled to take place.
Raza revealed on social media that when he sought clarification for the cancellation, he was informed that a faculty member had objected to his talk and exerted pressure on the organisers. He received an email that morning stating the event was cancelled “due to unavoidable circumstances.”
The virtual lecture, organised by the IIT-BHU Lit Club, a student group dedicated to literary pursuits, was titled “Confluence of Literature, Science and Consciousness.” Raza described it as “essentially a literary discussion—a lecture followed by questions and answers” and expected only 20 to 25 students to attend.
“I did not press the young student organisers for reasons behind the cancellation, as I did not want to put them in an awkward situation,” Raza said. However, he added, “If fundamentalists were involved in stopping this event, then there is no difference between this and what happened in Bengal with [poet-lyricist] Javed Akhtar.”
Earlier this month, the West Bengal Urdu Academy postponed a four-day literary event in Kolkata after Islamic groups objected to Akhtar’s participation. Jamiat Ulema Kolkata’s General Secretary, Zillur Rehman Arif, had warned that protests similar to those in 2007, which forced Bangla author Taslima Nasreen to leave Bengal, could occur if Akhtar attended the event.
Commenting on the broader trend, Raza said: “We are pushing our country to a situation where we are becoming a reflection of Pakistan. If this IIT-BHU cancellation was indeed an administrative intervention prompted by objections, this is precisely the type of interference happening in Pakistan.”
Gauhar Raza has served as Chief Scientist at the National Institute of Science Communication under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a body under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology. He is also an Urdu poet and social activist. Raza has directed documentaries on India’s 1857 war of independence, titled Jung-e-Azadi, and on the 2002 Gujarat riots, titled Evil Stalks the Land.
Attempts to contact Swati Biswas, Chairperson of the IIT-BHU Press and Publicity Committee, were unsuccessful. One of the event organisers declined to comment. The report will be updated if the institution responds.