JNUSU Holds Umar Khalid Book Event Outside JNU Building After Venue Cancelled

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) went ahead with a scheduled book discussion on the JNU campus in New Delhi on Monday, gathering outdoors after the university administration cancelled permission for the original venue. Students and faculty members attended the event, which began around 3 p.m. outside the School of Social Sciences-II building.

The discussion centered on former JNU student Umar Khalid’s book, titled "Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power." According to JNUSU, the event was organised to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

The programme had originally been scheduled to take place inside the School of Social Sciences-I (SSS-I) auditorium. However, university authorities cancelled the booking prior to the event, stating that the "full facts" regarding the programme had not been disclosed. s JNUSU criticised the university's action as "arbitrary and authoritarian," asserting that administrative orders would not stop the conversation. Union representatives maintained that "cancelling a room does not cancel a conversation" and stated that no administrative order could suppress the right of students to "think, question, and discuss."

Despite the withdrawal of auditorium access, the gathering proceeded at the revised outdoor location outside the SSS-II building as planned.