Ramjas drops invite to Umar Khalid, Shehla Rashid after stir

New Delhi: Delhi University’s Ramjas College on Tuesday withdrew an invitation to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address an on-campus seminar on “Culture of Protest”, following violent protests from the members of ABVP.

The two students were scheduled to take part in the two-day seminar organised by Wordcraft, Ramjas College’s Literary Society.

Mr Khalid is one of the three JNU students to face arrest on charges of sedition following the last year’s controversial on-campus rally that marked the anniversary of the 2013 hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. He was supposed to speak on ‘The War in Adivasi areas’, which happens to be his PhD subject as well, according to the organisers.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) vice-president, Ms Rashid’s session was scheduled for Wednesday. She had played an instrumental in the movement against the students’ arrest.

Members of Delhi University Students Union and RSS’ student wing ABVP gathered outside the college and shouted slogans, demanding that the invite to the “anti-nationals” be cancelled.

Organisers of the seminar said the ABVP members “pelted stones, locked the seminar room and cut the electricity supply”, a charge denied by the ABVP.

While the seminar will continue, the college has decided to cancel the participation of the two JNU students, Ramjas principal Rajendar Prasad said.  He said it was done “keeping peace and harmony of campus in mind”. Police officials claimed that they were present on campus and there was no violence.

Meanwhile. the JNU administration alleged that the protesting students are spreading misinformation to mislead the public and “show their illogical demands as genuine concerns”.

The administration said that newly-elected JNU Teachers’ Association, instead of approaching the administration to discuss issues related to admission policy, has preferred to take JNU’s issues outside of the campus.