Aligarh Muslim University cancels literary fest abruptly

The three-day Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) literary festival 2022 which started on May 20 was abruptly cancelled by the AMU administration, students claimed on social media. The event scheduled to be held on May 21 was cancelled suddenly. Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was scheduled to speak on Saturday, May 21, 2022, at Kennedy Hall Auditorium.

Without giving reasons, the AMU administration in a notice said, “Due to unavoidable circumstances the events of 21 and 22 May 2022 of the AMU Lit Fest, is hereby postponed till further orders.”

An advocate of Allahabad High Court Areeb Uddin in a tweet said, “So the AMU lit fest has been abruptly cancelled by the University administration? Without giving any reasons? Under who's pressure? One of the organizers told me that the guest is waiting and they can't even take a call. This is insane.”

“The students have been preparing for this event since months. This is not done,” he added.

Public, intellectuals, literary connoisseurs, faculty members, and students have been taking part in the literary festival. The fest features lectures, panel discussions, and discourses on books. However, this morning when students reached the campus, they found the proctorial team was there and Kennedy Auditorium, the venue of the fest, was locked.

However, AMU spokesperson, Safey Kidwai late told website career360 that the event was cancelled to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

But a member of the students group involved in organising the literary fest revealed to career360 that the administration was pressuring the students to cancel the fest.

"Probably they are under pressure of the government and the VC", he was quoted as saying by the website.

The three-day AMU literary fest started on May 20 in hybrid mode. It was scheduled to conclude on May 22. The lit fest was reportedly scheduled to host some prominent personalities like former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, senior journalists Hartosh Singh Bal and Rohit Khanna, before it was called off unceremoniously.