VHP protest JNU professor’s I-Day address; Session cancelled at Delhi school

An Independence Day address by Jawaharlal Nehru University professor emerita Zoya Hasan at a Delhi school was cancelled at the last minute on Friday following security concerns, with sources saying members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had gathered outside the school in protest.

Hasan had been invited as the chief guest for Sardar Patel Vidyalaya’s Independence Day celebrations and scholarship award ceremony. She was scheduled to hoist the national flag and address students at the school’s Lodi Estate campus, where the programme was set to begin at 10 am, the Indian Express reported.

People familiar with the developments said that around 10 to 15 VHP members had assembled outside the school, following which a larger police contingent was deployed. The school later confirmed that Hasan’s entry and address were cancelled because of security concerns.

A faculty member familiar with the matter said that some people had gathered outside the school early in the morning and that the situation subsequently escalated amid political concerns.

The school administration did not officially clarify whether the decision to cancel Hasan’s participation was taken independently or following advice from the police.

The rest of the function went ahead without disruption and was held in the school auditorium. Shveta Kalyanwala, president of the Gujarat Education Society and an alumna of the school, attended in Hasan’s place. The Gujarat Education Society is the parent body managing the institution.

Delhi Police said the school had informed them about a possible security threat. Police maintained that the decision to cancel Hasan’s participation was taken by the school and denied directing the institution to do so, adding that personnel had been deployed only to provide security.

Hasan, a political scientist, had planned to speak to students about pluralism. She said she had received a formal invitation from Sardar Patel Vidyalaya on August 14 and had been in contact with principal Anuradha Joshi in the weeks leading up to the event.

According to Hasan, a member of the school’s security team arrived to inform her that the programme involving her had been cancelled. She said she was told that Delhi Police had reached the school after the VHP protest and that concerns had been raised about her security as well as the safety of students. Hasan added that no police officer contacted her directly.

She also said she had informed the school in advance that her proposed address would focus on the theme “Why pluralism matters” and that no objections or concerns about the topic had been communicated to her.