Amid war in Gaza, Indian university cancels panels by Palestinian, Iranian, Lebanese envoys: Report

Amid wars in Gaza and Lebanon, an Indian university cancelled three seminars that were set to be addressed separately by envoys of Palestine, Iran and Lebanon in New Delhi, a local media report said on Friday, Anadolu Agency reports.

The seminars were organised by the Centre for West Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and cancelled due to “unavoidable circumstances”, the local daily The Indian Express reported.

It said Iranian Ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi, had been scheduled to address a seminar – titled, “How Iran sees the recent developments in West Asia” – on Thursday. However, participants were told on the morning of the event day that the event had been cancelled.

The Indian public and private institutions in the country refer to what is widely known as the Middle East as West Asia.

A coordinator sent an e-mail to the students also announcing the cancellation of the 7 November panels “on the violence in Palestine”, which was to be addressed by Palestinian Ambassador, Adnan Abu Al-Haija, and the 14 November panels on the situation in Lebanon, which was planned to be addressed by Lebanese Ambassador, Rabie Narsh.

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The report said University sources attributed the cancellations to “concerns raised by senior faculty members at the School of International Studies (under which the Centre for West Asian Studies operates), regarding potential objections that such seminars on polarising issues could provoke on campus.”

“There were concerns about how the campus might react,” the daily said.

The University has yet to issue an official statement about the matter.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Nearly 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,400 others injured, according to local health authorities. Since 1 October this year, Israel has expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

At least 2,574 people have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

India has seen the government acting against pro-Palestine protests or social media posts, with authorities filing at least 17 cases against 51 people.

In September, India’s Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation that had sought an order for the federal government to halt licenses to Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

Earlier, a group of eminent citizens in India had written to the country’s Defence Minister, calling on him to halt the licensing process that enables exporters to send arms and ammunition to Israel.

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