An Independence Day address by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor emerita Zoya Hasan at a Delhi school was cancelled last minute on Friday amid security concerns. Sources claimed that a group of 10-15 people, purportedly belonging to a right-wing outfit, had gathered outside the premises in protest and a larger police contingent was subsequently deployed.
Hasan had been invited as the chief guest for Sardar Patel Vidyalaya’s Independence Day and scholarship award ceremony and was scheduled to hoist the national flag and address students. The invitation issued by the school said the programme was to begin at 10 am at its Lodi Estate campus.
The school confirmed to The Indian Express that Hasan’s speech and entry had to be cancelled due to security concerns. “Unfortunately, some unruly elements gathered outside the school early in the morning, following which the situation escalated due to political concerns,” a school faculty member aware of the matter said.
The school administration did not comment on whether the decision was taken following a police direction or by the school itself.
The event faced no disruption and was held at the school’s auditorium, school authorities told The Indian Express. Gujarat Education Society (GES) president and school alumna Shveta Kalyanwala replaced Hasan. GES is the parent body that manages the school.
The Delhi Police said it was informed by the school about a security threat, and that the school must have taken the decision to cancel Hasan’s participation. Denying having forced the cancellation, police said its personnel were deployed only to provide protection.
Reacting to claims that the VHP was involved, President Alok Kumar said, “I have personally verified this. I am stating with full responsibility that the VHP had nothing to do with the said incident.”
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal, in a post on X late Friday, said, “The claim by a section of the media that a protest was held there by the Vishva Hindu Parishad is nothing but a misleading report. We have no connection whatsoever with that so-called protest.”
He, however, added, “It is not appropriate for a prestigious school in the capital, named after Sardar Patel ji and inspired by him, to invite as the chief guest a person who has herself insulted our Iron Man. We are pleased that the school administration, taking cognizance of this matter, has barred such a person from its program, thereby protecting the students’ minds from any new infection that he might spread.”
“It is in the interest of society to keep all such anti-national accomplices and associates of the ‘tukde-tukde gang’ away from public platforms.”
Hasan, a political scientist, was expected to speak to students on pluralism.
When contacted, she said she’d been formally invited by SPV on August 14, with principal Anuradha Joshi in touch with her over the past couple of weeks.
“Today at 8.30 am, I received a message from the teacher concerned that she… would be reaching my residence by 9.30 am,” Hasan said.
However, the professor said the school’s security head arrived instead and informed her that the event had been cancelled. She said the security head told her police had arrived at the school after a protest and were “very concerned” about Hasan’s security as well as that of the students. Hasan said she had not been contacted directly by the police.
She also said she’d told the school that her topic would be ‘Why pluralism matters’, and no concerns were raised. “They were not suggesting what I should speak on, and to be fair, neither did they suggest I shouldn’t speak on this,” Hasan said.
Academicians protested the move. Economist Jayati Ghosh alleged on X that police had prevented Hasan from speaking at the event and that school authorities had been forced to cancel the programme on security grounds.
Academic Apoorvanand also alleged that police should have restrained the protesters rather than prevent Hasan from meeting students.
JNU Professor Zoya Hasan. 
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