JNU Cancels Venue For Umar Khalid Book Event: JNUSU Alleges Censorship, ABVP Claims Credit

A proposed discussion on jailed activist Umar Khalid’s book Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power at Jawaharlal Nehru University has triggered a dispute between the JNU Students’ Union and the ABVP. The university withdrew permission for the event’s venue, citing “non-disclosure of the full facts about the program.” The JNUSU rejected the explanation and said the discussion would proceed in an open space near the SSS-II building. The ABVP claimed credit for the cancellation, while the student union and an assistant professor accused the administration of using a pretext for censorship. The book is based on Khalid’s JNU doctoral thesis on Adivasi communities in Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region. Khalid has been in custody since September 2020 under the UAPA in the northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case.