Members of the SFS stage a protest in front of the V-C’s office Members of the SFS stage a protest in front of the V-C’s office

A day after Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) threatened to disrupt a conference organised by Students For Society (SFS) scheduled to be held on March 3, the Panjab University authorities cancelled the event. The students body had objected to the institute’s decision to invite activist Seema Azad to the conference, ‘Smash the Rising Head of Fascism’. Azad and husband Vishwavijaya were charged with sedition and Maoist links in 2010 and sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court. After an appeal in the Allahabad High Court, they were released on bail in 2012.

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The ABVP stated that the seminar will “lead to anti-national environment on the campus”. “We would not let this seminar take place in the university whether in the auditorium or in open space. Yesterday, we met UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore and sought his help to stop the event to which he gave a positive response. Azad’s entry is banned in six states across the country due to anti-national behaviour. By inviting her what kind of a message do they want to send to the students,” said Saurabh Kapoor, Organisational Secretary ABVP.

With the event called off, the SFS Wednesday held a demonstration outside the Vice Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover’s office against the authorities decision to cancel the event. Speaking on the issue Daman, president of SFS said, “ We had booked a hall two weeks ago and also informed the Dean Student Welfare about the change of speaker. At that time they had no issue regarding the seminar and speaker. Now in the name of security, authorities are suppressing the voice of dissent in favour of ABVP.”

SFS had earlier planned to call Arun Ferreira, a political activist, to the seminar. Since he was unavailable, Azad was invited.

Meanwhile, the National Student Union of India (NSUI) on Monday, while condemning the violent spat between SFS and ABVP ,submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor urging them to cancel any event which might result into any untowardly incident in the campus.

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