On October 30, 2025, Delhi University (DU) canceled a pre-approved seminar on land and democratic rights at the School of Economics (DSE) without explanation.

The seminar, titled “Land, Property and Democratic Rights” was to be delivered by Dr. Namita Wahi, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, as part of the Sociology Department’s long-running “Friday Colloquium” series. As one of the DSE’s oldest academic traditions, Colloquium attendance is a requirement for sociology graduate students.

The day before the event, the DU Registrar notified the head of the Sociology Department of the cancellation via WhatsApp, citing “administrative reasons.” The Colloquium’s convenor, Nandini Sundar, resigned in protest. Sundar posted on Facebook that she could “no longer guarantee the intellectual integrity of the research colloquium” if it could be canceled arbitrarily at the last minute without a formal reason. She further speculated that the cancellation was tied to the lecture’s content, specifically its focus on judicial interpretations of the right to property.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary last-minute cancellation of an academic event. Higher education leaders should respect academic freedom by refraining from politically or ideologically motivated restrictions on academic activity. Limits on academic discussion and exchange, whether imposed by higher education leaders or state officers, undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://thewire.in/education/delhi-university-delhi-school-of-economics-seminar-changes-to-right-to-property-nandini-sundar
https://www.ndtv.com/education/du-vc-cancels-seminar-on-property-rights-no-reason-cited-professor-calls-it-diminishing-of-academic-freedom-9542953