JNU cancels auditorium booking for Umar Khalid book discussion
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Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has cancelled the booking of an auditorium for a book discussion on former student Umar Khalid's book "Fractured Communities", which was scheduled to be held on August 10.
The event was planned at the SSS-1 auditorium from 3 pm onwards, according to a poster circulated about the programme.
The listed speakers included Professor Prabhu Mohapatra, Professor Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander, and Banojyotsana Lahiri.
In an official communication, the university said the auditorium booking was cancelled due to the "non-disclosure of the full facts about the programme".
"JNU is a democratic and decentralised institution. The permission was given by Dean, SSS, who has taken action as well in cancelling the event," the university said.
The booking record had stated that Professor Avinash Kumar would be present at the programme as a representative of the centre's faculty. The booking was confirmed on August 7.
Khalid is a former student of JNU.
The university did not provide further details in the communication about what information it considered undisclosed or whether the event itself had been cancelled. The notice specifically stated that the booking of the SSS-1 auditorium stood cancelled.
JNU describes itself as a centre for teaching and research and says it aims to create an integrated academic ecosystem focused on innovative thinking and research.