JNU professor’s Independence Day address at Delhi school cancelled after VHP protest

3 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Aug 14, 2026 03:49 PM IST

An Independence Day tackle by Jawaharlal Nehru University professor emerita Zoya Hasan at a Delhi faculty was cancelled final minute on Friday, amid safety issues. Sources stated Vishwa Hindu Parishad members gathered outdoors the premises in protest.

Hasan had been invited because the chief visitor for Sardar Patel Vidyalaya’s Independence Day and scholarship award ceremony and was scheduled to hoist the nationwide flag and tackle college students. The invitation issued by the college stated the programme was to start at 10 am at its Lodi Property campus.

Individuals conscious of the incident claimed round 10-15 VHP members gathered outdoors the college and a bigger police contingent was subsequently deployed.

The varsity confirmed to The Indian Specific that Hasan’s speech and entry needed to be cancelled as a result of safety issues.

“Sadly, some unruly parts gathered outdoors the college early within the morning, following which the scenario escalated as a result of political issues,” a college college member conscious of the matter stated.

The varsity administration didn’t formally touch upon whether or not the choice was taken following a police route or by the college itself.

The perform, nevertheless, confronted no disruption and was held on the faculty’s auditorium, faculty authorities instructed The Indian Specific. Gujarat Schooling Society (GES) president and college alumna Shveta Kalyanwala changed Hasan. GES is the mother or father physique that manages the college.

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The Delhi Police stated it was knowledgeable by the college a few safety risk, and that the college will need to have taken the choice to cancel Hasan’s participation. Denying having compelled the cancellation, police stated its personnel have been deployed solely to supply safety.

‘Safety head got here house, instructed me about cancellation’

Hasan, a political scientist, was anticipated to talk to college students on pluralism.

When contacted, she stated she’d been formally invited by Sardar Patel Vidyalaya on August 14, with principal Anuradha Joshi in contact together with her over the previous couple of weeks. “At this time at 8.30 am, I obtained a message from the instructor involved that she… could be reaching my residence by 9.30 am,” Hasan stated.

Nonetheless, the professor stated the college’s safety head arrived as an alternative and knowledgeable her that the occasion had been cancelled.

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She stated the safety head instructed her the Delhi Police had arrived on the faculty after a protest by VHP members and have been “very involved” about Hasan’s safety in addition to that of the scholars. Hasan stated she had not been contacted straight by the police.

She additionally stated she had instructed the college that her subject could be ‘Why pluralism issues’, and no issues have been raised. “They weren’t suggesting what I ought to converse on, and to be honest, neither did they counsel I shouldn’t converse on this,” Hasan stated.

Academicians protested the transfer. Economist Jayati Ghosh alleged on X that police had prevented Hasan from talking on the occasion and that college authorities had been compelled to cancel the programme on safety grounds.

Tutorial Apoorvanand additionally alleged that police ought to have restrained the protesters fairly than stop Hasan from assembly college students.

Sophiya Mathew is a Correspondent at The Indian Specific, based mostly in New Delhi. She joined the Delhi bureau in 2024, and has specialization in Built-in Multimedia Journalism from the Asian Faculty of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.

Skilled Background

Core Beats: Her reporting is primarily centered on the Setting and Schooling.

Specialization: She has gained recognition for her ground-level reporting on the Yamuna floodplains and the socio-economic challenges confronted by these dwelling on its banks. She additionally focuses on the disparities in Delhi’s schooling system, starting from elite non-public colleges to authorities establishments and refugee schooling.

Latest Notable Articles (December 2025)

Her current work has been closely centered on Delhi’s extreme winter air pollution disaster and the federal government’s regulatory responses:

1. The Air Air pollution Disaster

“A story of two cities: Delhi govt colleges choke in unhealthy air, non-public school rooms arrange air filters” (Dec 20, 2025): A high-impact function contrasting the “Clear Air Bubbles” in elite colleges with the truth of presidency faculty college students who’re uncovered to an equal of 17 cigarettes a day as a result of outside publicity.

“Delhi sees season’s worst air day, second worst December AQI in practically a decade” (Dec 15, 2025): An analytical report on the meteorological patterns trapping pollution within the NCR.

“Delhi bans non-BS VI automobiles from outdoors: Why curbing vehicular air pollution is vital” (Dec 17, 2025): Explaining the science behind concentrating on particular automobile vintages to decrease particulate matter.

2. Enforcement & Rules

“No gas at pumps in Delhi with out legitimate PUC certificates from December 18” (Dec 17, 2025): Breaking the information on the surroundings ministry’s strict “No PUC, No Gasoline” coverage.

3. Schooling Coverage

“Regulation to control faculty charge in Delhi dangers changing into procedural, say mother and father” (Dec 13, 2025): Investigating the loopholes within the new Delhi College Schooling (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Charges) Invoice, 2025.

“Monsoon Session: Personal faculty charge regulation Invoice cleared after four-hour debate” (Aug 9, 2025): Overlaying the legislative passage of the controversial charge hike regulation.

Signature Model

Sophiya is thought for her observational depth. Her reporting typically consists of vivid particulars from faculty corridors, hospital waitlists, or the banks of the Yamuna for instance how coverage failures have an effect on the town’s most weak residents. She is a frequent skilled visitor on the three Issues podcast, the place she explains the complexities of Delhi’s environmental legal guidelines.

X (Twitter): @SophiyaMathew1 … Read More