AISA claims college cancelled panel discussion after ‘threat’

All India Students’ Association (AISA), Bengaluru, on Tuesday claimed that Mount Carmel (Deemed-to-be University) cancelled a panel discussion scheduled to be held on its campus on September 23 after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly warned the administration of protests if the event was held with the participation of Spark magazine editor Aratrika Dey.

The discussion, titled “Gender Politics and the Media in the Fight for Equality”, was to feature Ms. Dey, political activist and editor of Spark magazine; Alex, programme coordinator, Vimochana; and Gita Aravamudan, author and journalist.

In a release, AISA claimed that the ABVP had “threatened” the college administration over the invitation extended to “controversial speakers”, and condemned what it called “repeated intimidation tactics” aimed at disrupting democratic spaces on college campuses.

However, Abhinandan Mirji, president of the ABVP’s Bengaluru unit, denied that any threats had been issued. “There were internal discussions in our organisation about the event. However, we did not find anything objectionable in it,” he said. The Hindu tried reaching the university administration for a response, but did not receive one.