- Delhi University cancelled a seminar on Land, Property and Democratic Rights without explanation
- The cancellation order came from the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar of Delhi University
- Professor Nandini Sundar resigned as colloquium convenor in protest of the cancellation
Delhi University's Vice-Chancellor and Registrar have ordered to cancel a seminar titled 'Land, Property and Democratic Rights', scheduled to be held at the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) on Friday, without any reasons for the cancellation.
Professor Nandini Sundar of the Department of Sociology took to social media and said that the Head of the department was instructed to cancel the seminar in part of Friday Colloquium series and "report immediate compliance".
The seminar was to focus on judicial interpretations of the Right to Property. "No reasons for the cancellation were given, in writing or otherwise," she wrote, adding that "we can only speculate that the RSS-led government is scared of any discussion around land and democratic rights."
Professor Sundar said this move from the university's administration represents "a serious diminishing of academic freedom." In protest of the cancellation, she announced her resignation as the convenor of the colloquium saying she could no longer ensure "the intellectual integrity of the research colloquium" or guarantee that it would not be "cancelled arbitrarily at the last minute."
Describing the Friday Colloquium as one of the oldest academic traditions of the department, Prof. Sundar said, "It has functioned independently through the Emergency and all the decades since the department was set up".
The Delhi University administration has not issued any formal explanation for the cancellation.
The decision has raised wider concerns among academics about growing administrative control and restrictions on discussions around democratic rights and governance on university campuses.
