JNU cancels seminars by Palestine, Lebanon & Iran envoys due to ‘unavoidable circumstances’

In the same email, Baidya also announced the cancellation of the November 7 seminar on the violence in Palestine, which was to be addressed by Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Al-Haija, and the November 14 seminar on the situation in Lebanon, scheduled to be addressed by the Lebanese Ambassador, Dr Rabie Narsh.

Sources at the Iranian and Lebanese Embassies told The Indian Express that the decision to cancel the events was taken by the university, and they were unaware of the reasons. The Palestinian Embassy did not respond to text messages or phone calls.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Baidya declined to comment.

University sources attributed the cancellations to concerns raised by senior faculty members at the School of International Studies (SIS) (under which the Centre for West Asian Studies operates), regarding potential protests that such seminars on polarising issues could provoke on campus.

“The purpose of such seminars is to gain insights into the perspectives of West Asian countries amidst the current geopolitical climate. However, there were concerns about how the campus might react,” said a university source.

In a communication to chairpersons of all SIS Centres on Thursday, SIS Dean Amitabh Mattoo, while reiterating an earlier message, said: “We are living in a charged global atmosphere, where sentiments can get easily inflamed. This is to request you to take the Dean into confidence before you invite any diplomat to the School for any public event. Please also ensure that any individual faculty initiative in this regard is routed through you. We also want to ensure that every visitor to the School, especially at the Ambassadorial level, is accorded proper protocol. SIS has always stood for maintaining the highest standards of academic freedom and excellence while ensuring that the integrity of our platforms are not violated or exploited by vested interests.”

When reached for comment, Mattoo directed inquiries to Sameena Hameed, Chairperson of the Centre for West Asian Studies. Hameed said the seminar with the Iranian Ambassador had been postponed on Wednesday, while the other two seminars were not “officially scheduled” by the Centre.

“The seminars for the Palestinian Ambassador’s talk and the Lebanese Ambassador’s talk were not officially scheduled by the Centre. As for today’s seminar with the Iranian Ambassador, the Centre had communicated that it would be postponed because it was organised at the very last minute, and we were not in a position to follow the required protocols to host the Ambassador. There may have been some miscommunication at some level,” she said.

“…These Ambassadors have been coming to our university for a long time, and they will continue to come and interact with students,” Hameed added.