Sardar Patel Vidyalaya cancels Zoya Hasan’s Independence Day address after security concern

A planned Independence Day address on pluralism by JNU professor emerita Zoya Hasan was cancelled shortly before she was due to reach Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Delhi on Friday.

Hasan said two school security personnel came to her home around 9.30am and told her that a threat to her and a larger group of students meant the programme could not go ahead. She had been invited a month earlier to hoist the national flag and speak to students and parents at 10am.

Parents associated with the school said a handful of protesters, identified by them as Vishwa Hindu Parishad members, were outside the gate opposing the event. They said the school administration told them police had pressed for the cancellation. Delhi Police said it had not stopped anyone from speaking and had visited only after receiving information about the situation.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad denied that its members were involved in the protest. Its spokesperson Vinod Bansal nevertheless welcomed the cancellation in a social-media post and objected to Hasan being invited as chief guest.

The annual function continued, with the Gujarat Education Society president, whose organisation manages the school, distributing awards in Hasan’s place. Students and parents have planned a virtual address by Hasan from 11am to 12.30pm on Saturday.