Pune: IISER abruptly cancels Ambedkar event following ABVP complaint

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Pune has arbitrarily cancelled scheduled talks by three women anti-caste activists after the right-aligned Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) approached the police against their invite, alleging they were “members of the extreme Left.”

The talks were scheduled on Saturday (April 12) and Sunday (April 13) at the IISER campus as part of the Muktiparv programme to mark the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. Academics and activists Deepali Salve, Nazima Parveen, and Smita M Patil in the now-cancelled event.

The IISER student council has taken strong objection to the event’s arbitrary cancellation. In a statement released, they denounced the move as a way to silence the voices of dissent.

“We would like to view the censorship imposed on the student body in the context of recent events around the country. An authoritarian presence is felt throughout the academic establishments where academic freedom has been forced to be pledged to external agencies or the ruling government. We unequivocally condemn all such tendencies exhibited by the institute’s administration and extend our unconditional solidarity to resist these top-down impositions. We call upon all the members of the IISER fraternity to stand united against authoritarianism,” the statement read.

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Another student group released their statement asking if the ABVP felt “threatened.”

“Muktiparv, an event organised by Dalit-Adivasi-Bahujan students, has been an affair that has attracted only around a few hundred-strong audience. Yet, this minor event in a premium education institution has threatened the ABVP and the ruling establishment. We ask ABVP, an organisation that is held by Brahmin and Upper Caste men: Who are you to tell Dalits-Bahujans-Adivasis how to celebrate Ambedkar and Ambedkar Jayanti? ABVP and the ruling classes may desire Dalit-Adivasi students to remain docile, but that will never be the case. We will resist this censorship and stifling of marginalised voices on student campuses,” read the statement.

However, IISER has issued a reply, maintaining that they are committed to the values championed by Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. “These talks were planned as part of Muktiparv, a student-driven initiative featuring external speakers who are scholars and experts in social equality, caste, and gender. The organisers, including students and faculty mentors, had followed due process, ensuring that the content of the event would not be objectionable. However, given the concerns raised, the institute has decided not to go ahead with the scheduled talks,” the university said.

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