JNU seminar cancellation news: The Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for West Asia Studies has canceled the three seminars on the ongoing conflict in West Asia due to ‘unavoidable reasons’. The seminar were t0 be addressed separately by the Palestinian, Iranian and Lebanese ambassadors to India, according to The Indian Express report.
The Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr Iraj Elahi was scheduled to interact with the students on “How Iran sees the recent developments in West Asia” around 11 am on Thursday, Sima Baidua, the coordinator for the event, sent an email to students at 8:09 am informing them the seminar had been cancelled.
In the same email, Baidya shared the news of the cancellation of two upcoming seminars. The first, scheduled for November 7, was meant to discuss violence in Palestine with Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Al-Haija as the speaker. The second, on November 14, was to focus on the situation in Lebanon and feature Lebanese Ambassador Dr. Rabie Narsh.
Sources from the Iranian and Lebanese Embassies informed The Indian Express that the university had made the decision to cancel the events, though no reasons were provided to them. The Palestinian Embassy did not respond to calls or messages.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Baidya chose not to comment.
University insiders suggested the cancellations were likely due to concerns voiced by senior faculty members from the School of International Studies (SIS), which oversees the Centre for West Asian Studies. These concerns centered around the possibility of protests arising from the discussions of sensitive, divisive topics on campus.
“The aim of such seminars is to foster understanding of West Asian perspectives in the context of current geopolitical developments. However, there were apprehensions about how the campus community might respond,” a university source explained.