JNU cancels auditorium booking for discussion on Umar Khalid's book

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has cancelled the booking of the SSS-1 auditorium for a discussion on Umar Khalid’s book Fractured Communities, scheduled to be held on August 10.The event was scheduled from 3 pm to 6 pm and was to be organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) as a public discussion marking Tribal Day, or Adivasi Diwas.JNU CITES INCOMPLETE EVENT DETAILSAccording to a notice issued by the university, the booking was cancelled because complete details about the proposed event were not provided in the venue request form submitted for the auditorium.The university administration said the decision was taken on this ground, citing the need for transparency regarding the use of auditoriums and other spaces on campus.The cancellation letter was issued by the Joint Registrar and approved by the Dean of the School of Social Sciences (SSS).EVENT WAS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 10The discussion was scheduled to take place on August 10 from 3 pm to 6 pm.Several speakers were slated to participate in the discussion, including Prof. Prabhu Mohapatra, Prof. Uma Chakravarti, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Harsh Mander and Bano Jyotsna Lahiri.The event was planned as a public discussion marking Tribal Day (Adivasi Diwas) and was to be organised by JNUSU.AUDITORIUM WAS ORIGINALLY BOOKED BY CISLS PROFESSORAccording to the cancellation letter, the SSS-1 auditorium had originally been booked by Dr Avinash Kumar of the Centre for International Legal Studies (CISLS).The university said the failure to provide complete details regarding the proposed event in the venue request form led to the cancellation of the booking.JNU SAYS FULL PROGRAMME DETAILS WERE NOT DISCLOSEDResponding to the development in a post on X, JNU said the university is a "democratic and decentralised institution" and that permission for the event had been given by the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, who subsequently took action to cancel it.The university said the SSS-1 auditorium booking "stands cancelled" due to the "non-disclosure of the full facts" about the programme scheduled to take place on August 10, 2026, from 3 pm to 6 pm.JNU also urged all concerned to take note of the cancellation. JNU's tweet. JNU REFERS TO TRANSPARENCY AND DECENTRALISED PROCESSESThe letter also references JNU's "democratic and decentralised" processes and stresses the importance of maintaining transparency in the use of university auditoriums and other spaces.The cancellation comes a day before the scheduled discussion, changing the arrangements for an event that was to focus on Fractured Communities and mark Tribal Day.According to the university, the action was taken in accordance with established administrative procedures and requirements concerning the disclosure of event details.- EndsPublished By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 9, 2026 12:58 IST