Archive · 9 Aug 2026
JNU cancels venue for Umar Khalid's book discussion
Students at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi planned a talk about a book written by Umar Khalid.
The book is about Adivasi people, the indigenous communities of India, and their struggles over land, water and forests.
The talk was going to be held in a big room at the university called an auditorium.
The university cancelled permission to use that room, saying the students had not shared all the facts about the event.
The student union said the cancellation was unfair and meant to silence them.
They said the talk will still happen anyway, in the open air next to another building.
It is scheduled for Monday afternoon at 3 pm.
The talk is happening on the day the world celebrates indigenous peoples.
Umar Khalid, who wrote the book, has been in prison since September 2020 and is still waiting for his trial.
The student union says people should always be free to discuss a book.
JNU cancelled the booking of the SSS-I auditorium for a discussion on Umar Khalid's book 'Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power', citing 'non-disclosure of full facts' about the event.
JNUSU first said no particular reason was given for the cancellation, then called it 'arbitrary and authoritarian' and accused the administration of trying to suppress academic discussion and dissent.
JNUSU said the discussion will proceed as planned in the open outside the SSS-II building, with an alternate venue to be announced separately.
The event, scheduled for Monday (August 10) from 3 pm on the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, features speakers including Professors Prabhu Mahapatra and Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander and Banojyotsna Lahiri.
Khalid, a former JNU student leader, has been imprisoned without trial since September 2020 under UAPA in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case.
- Who
- Umar Khalid (author and imprisoned former JNU student leader), the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU), the JNU administration and Dean of the School of Social Sciences, and speakers including Prabhu Mahapatra, Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander and Banojyotsna Lahiri.
- What
- JNU cancelled the SSS-I auditorium booking for a discussion on Khalid's book over 'non-disclosure of full facts'; JNUSU called the move arbitrary and authoritarian and said the discussion would proceed outside the SSS-II building.
- When
- The cancellation was announced on Sunday, August 9, 2026; the discussion was scheduled for Monday, August 10, 2026, from 3 pm to 6 pm (one report's lead referred to it as an August 9 event).
- Where
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi — originally the School of Social Sciences-I (SSS-I) auditorium, now planned for the open area outside the SSS-II building.
- Why
- JNU said the booking was cancelled because of 'non-disclosure of full facts' about the programme; JNUSU said it was an attempt to suppress academic discussion and dissent. The event marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.
Student union and free-expression advocates
University administration
Auditorium cancellation
Student union and free-expression advocates
JNUSU called the cancellation 'arbitrary and authoritarian' and an attempt to suppress academic discussion and dissent, and said no particular reason was given for cancelling the original venue.
University administration
JNU said the booking of the SSS-I auditorium stood cancelled because 'full facts' about the programme had not been disclosed, and noted the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, who had granted permission, took the action to cancel it.
Double standards on campus space
Student union and free-expression advocates
The union alleged 'double standards', claiming the administration had extended cooperation and space on campus for ISKCON events while denying a venue for the book discussion.
University administration
The university maintained it is a democratic and decentralised institution and framed the cancellation as a decision taken by the Dean over undisclosed facts about the programme.
Khalid's imprisonment and the event's context
Student union and free-expression advocates
JNUSU described Khalid as a defender of constitutional rights and civil liberties who has been imprisoned without trial since September 2020, and insisted the discussion would go ahead.
University administration
Khalid is in jail facing UAPA charges in a conspiracy case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, in which 53 people died and over 700 were injured, a context that may justify institutional caution around events linked to him.
- Book
- Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power
- Author
- Umar Khalid
- Original venue
- School of Social Sciences-I (SSS-I) auditorium, JNU
- Revised plan
- Discussion to proceed in the open outside the SSS-II building; alternate venue to be announced separately
- Scheduled time
- Monday, August 10, 2026, 3 pm–6 pm
- Occasion
- International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
- University's stated reason
- Non-disclosure of full facts about the programme
- Khalid's status
- Imprisoned without trial since September 2020 under UAPA in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case
