An Independence Day event at Delhi’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, where Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Zoya Hasan was invited as the chief guest, was cancelled on Friday after members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad allegedly gathered outside the school to protest, The Print reported.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad is part of a group of Hindutva organisations led by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the parent organisation of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hasan was scheduled to speak on “Pluralism” at the event, which was to begin at 10 am. The event was not publicly announced, but the invitation was shared with parents.
Hasan, professor emerita at Jawaharlal Nehru University, confirmed to The Print that the event had been cancelled. The news outlet quoted sources as saying that the cancellation was due to “security concerns” for the professor and the school.
The school is yet to comment on the matter.
On Friday, the Delhi Police also deployed several personnel at the school after receiving a call about the law and order situation there, The Print reported.
“We were informed that, considering the threat to Professor Hasan’s well-being and safety, the school was cancelling the event,” the news outlet quoted an unidentified police officer as saying. “It was not cancelled at the behest of the Delhi Police. We only sent personnel to ensure that there was no law-and-order escalation.”