New Delhi: A lecture by political scientist and former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor Zoya Hasan was allegedly cancelled at the last minute at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in central Delhi on Friday, with the school citing “security concerns”, according to Hasan.
VHP spokesperson Vinod Bansal denied the allegations of a protest outside the school. “When we came to school in the morning, everything was normal. “I had received an invite for the lecture on July 28 and was about to talk on ‘Why Pluralism Matters’. A teacher from the school was supposed to pick me up at 8.30am on Friday. A 15-year-old student involved in organising the lecture said students were not given a specific reason for the cancellation.
However, nobody came, and a security official informed me that the lecture had been cancelled due to a threat to my security,” Hasan said.
Hasan said a security official from the school informed her that the lecture had been cancelled “because there was a threat to her safety”. Teachers at the school, who sought not to be identified, alleged that the decision came after “members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) gathered outside the school”. To be sure, the Delhi Police denied that any such gathering took place and said it had not received any complaint or request for assistance from the school management. He added that it is in the interest of society that “such anti-national supporters are kept away from public platforms”. A teacher involved in the programme said preparations had been underway for several weeks and that students were informed about an hour before the scheduled event that Hasan would not be attending. “Just an hour before the programme, we were told by an administration staff and the principal that the chief guest would not be attending. The administration official also said there were a few VHP members protesting outside the school, and the school’s manager told us that the police had refused to provide security to professor Hasan. The manager also told us if the situation escalated, safety of the students could be compromised,” a teacher, who sought not to be identified, said. The Delhi Police, however, said there was no protest or gathering outside the school. Suddenly, a few of us who were involved in the programme were called to the auditorium and told by our teachers that the chief guest would not come. They didn’t inform us of the reason,” the student said.
