The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday announced the cancellation of the event involving a book discussion on “Fractured Communities: Adivasi Histories and the Politics of Power,” authored by social activist Umar Khalid. The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) has strongly condemned the decision, further calling it a “suppression” of critical thought. JNU said the booking of the SSS-1 auditorium has been cancelled after the organisers failed to disclose complete details about the programme scheduled for August 10, from 3 pm to 6 pm. “JNU is a democratic and decentralised institution. The permission was given by Dean, SSS who has taken action as well in cancelling the event.
The booking of the auditorium SSS-1 stands cancelled because of non-disclosure of the full facts about the program which is going to take place on 10th August 2026 from 3 pm to 6 pm,” the university said on X. What did the JNUSU say? The JNUSU slammed the university administration’s decision to cancel the SSS-I auditorium booking for a discussion on Umar Khalid’s book, describing the move as “arbitrary and authoritarian”. “JNUSU Condemns RSS appointed casteist and corrupt VC for undemocratic Cancellation of Book Discussion on Umar Khalid’s “Fractured Communities” Cancelling a book discussion on Adivasi Diwas while allowing Isckon, Madam VC, we will not allow it to be our University like this,” it said in a statement on X. “The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) strongly condemns the arbitrary and authoritarian decision of the JNU Administration to cancel the booking of the SSS-I Auditorium for a scheduled discussion on Umar Khalid’s book, Fractured Communities on the World Adivasi Day,” it mentioned. The JNUSU further maintained that discussions on books are an essential part of academic culture and democratic engagement within university campuses, adding, “By cancelling the venue for this event, the JNU Administration has once again exposed its anti-student and anti-intellectual agenda, one that seeks to suppress critical thought and silence dissenting voices rather than foster the free exchange of ideas that a university is meant to protect.”
The union stated, “The administration’s stated reason, that “full details” were not disclosed at the time of booking, rings hollow.
It was the Dean of the School of Social Sciences who himself instructed that the booking be made in that very format. This contradiction lays bare the administration’s true intent: to manufacture a pretext for censorship.”
About the Umar Khalid book event The event, organised by the JNUSU to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, was scheduled for 3 pm on Monday at the School of Social Sciences-I (SSS-I) auditorium.
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It was centred on a book exploring Adivasi histories and the dynamics of power and politics. The event poster listed Professor Prabhu Mahapatra, Professor Uma Chakravarti, writer and journalist Shuddhabrata Sengupta, social activist Harsh Mander and Banojyotsna Lahiri among the speakers. Khalid’s PhD research focused on the history of Adivasi communities in Jharkhand’s Singhbhum region and later became the foundation for his book. He submitted his thesis to Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Historical Studies in July 2018 and received his PhD the following year. The publisher’s note on the book’s Amazon listing states, “In Fractured Communities, published in book form for the first time, Khalid combines archival rigour with analytical clarity to illuminate the history of Singhbhum’s tribal societies under British rule. The book is both a valuable work of history and a critique of histories written from positions of power, which tend to flatten differences among and, more crucially, within communities.”
According to it, Fractured Communities examines the region’s history at a time when public discourse is increasingly influenced by simplified interpretations of the past. The note highlights the book’s contemporary relevance and says its narrative is shaped by a political philosophy rooted in democratic values and concern for marginalised communities.
Where is Umar Khalid? Khalid, an activist and former student leader, has been in jail since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the alleged conspiracy linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. He is yet to face trial in the case.
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The violence broke out amid demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), claiming 53 lives and leaving more than 700 people injured. About the Author Garvit Bhirani
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively.
During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. He can be reached on LinkedIn or on @garvitbhirani on X
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