The cancellation of the lecture, originally scheduled for January 31, has raised concerns among students regarding the institute’s practice of calling off lectures.

Devy was first invited by IIT Bombay authorities to deliver a talk titled ‘The crisis within: On Knowledge and Education in India’ as part of the ‘Institute Lecture’ series. Students and faculty were informed a month in advance about the scheduled talk.

However on January 30, the eve of the event, authorities notified students and faculty members that the lecture had been cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances.” A report in the Hindustan Times, states the committee “responsible for regulating lectures at the IIT Bombay campus made the decision to call off the lecture.”

“We were very excited to hear Professor Devy as he is an intellectual personality who delivers his thoughts on history and present society. We were very happy when the institute decided to invite him to the campus. But going by past instances, we feared that the institute may cancel the lecture,” said a student from the campus.

Professor Devy said, “I have never been previously associated with IIT Bombay. A professor from the institute’s lecture committee invited me to give a lecture. But a day before I was leaving, the same person called to inform me about cancellation of the lecture. I did not even bother to ask the reason as it is not my basic right. I have ample of pending work, so I utilised the time for the same.” However, he added that “Such last-minute cancellations do leave a bitter taste.”

“It is difficult for me to understand the motivation behind calling off the event. If I could deliver a lecture at IIT-Guwahati, another central institute, governed by the same regulations, then why not IIT-Bombay?” said Devy while speaking to the Times of India.

“I had sent them the synopsis of the lecture almost a month ago. The discussion over this started about four to five months ago and after a lot of deliberations on both sides, Jan 31 was finalised for the talk. The book that I was going to speak about is published and is in the public domain. I do not think this has anything to do with the content of the book or the topic of the lecture, nor do I wish to build a hypothesis around it. They are a scientific organisation, and I would like to believe that the reasons are not irrational,” he added.

Devy was the keynote speaker at IIT-Guwahati’s Graduate Research Meet in October last year and spoke on ‘Describing India: People’s Movements and Knowledge Production’.

Repeat cancellations at IIT Bombay

The institute had some months back cancelled a lecture titled ‘Israel-Palestine: The Historical Context’ by Professor Achin Vanaik in November last year as well as a two-day conference on Left politics titled ‘Cultures of the Political Left in Modern India’ in 2022.

At the time, after the lecture on the Israel-Palsetine conflict was cancelled, over 50 students had written a letter to the authorities saying that such cancellations were indicative of loss of academic freedom on the campus. “To restrict us from inviting academicians at the department or to allow the administration to intimidate us by recording our events is tantamount to destroying our academic freedom,” the letter read.

Besides, students from Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle at IIT-B organised a reading of Devy’s book at the same time and venue on Wednesday, January 31 that was attended by around 25 residents on the campus including a few faculty members.

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According to a report published in the National Herald, row began when Jha disclosed, “Whatever is happening is not per the rules and regulations. On August 18, I received a letter that I had to give a lecture on September 4. And today, I received an email saying that your lecture has been cancelled due to unknown reasons.”

“I am the Professor of that University. I got a letter on August 18 to take a lecture on 4th September. And this morning a letter came saying that your lecture has been cancelled. The programme has not been cancelled only my lecture is cancelled,” Jha told news agency ANI.

Jha, known for his fiery speeches in the Rajya Sabha, teaches at the Department of Social Work.

In a video message, he said, “This is my university, here I am a professor, I have studied here, and here I teach, despite this, who is getting offended? I can speak in Parliament, on the street, and write in newspapers. But I cannot address the teachers of my university. What is the fear?”

The RJD leader didn’t shy away from turning the spotlight on the ruling party, referencing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) slogan of “Vishwaguru Bharat” (India as a world teacher). He said, “Is this how we will become Vishwaguru? By turning universities into wells?”

He further stated his intent to involve higher authorities in the matter, stating, “I will write to the Prime Minister, Education Minister and apprise them of what is happening under their nose. Such practice has to stop. We cannot see the university dying.”

The cancellation of the lecture, attributed to “unavoidable circumstances,” has added to the intense ongoing debate over autonomy of universities and the role of politicians within academic institutions.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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