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New Delhi: On Friday (August 14), two realities unfolded right before the Independence Day, when the doorbell of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) professor emerita Zoya Hasan rang, and when goons and police met each other outside Delhi’s Sardar Patel Vidyalaya (SPV).

Hasan, who was on her way to SPV, expected the teacher picking her up to be at the door. But to her surprise, a senior security in-charge and a senior teacher from the school, stood outside deeply regretful and apologetic that her talk as chief guest on ‘pluralism’ had been cancelled. 

The apology was not owed to a logistical or technical glitch. But it was rooted in the ruckus that the goons protesting against the talk had caused outside the school established by the Gujarat Education Society in 1958. 

Hasan confirmed to The Wire that she was invited by the school a month and a half ago, and she warmly accepted the invitation, and several emails have been exchanged until 8:30 am today. She said that the school told her it was the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) which created chaos.

Meanwhile, sources told The Wire that at least 10-15 VHP goons assembled outside the school yelling slogans for cancelling Hasan’s talk.

Soon, they were outnumbered by the police, which was not called by the school, The Wire has learnt.

According to sources, the police went inside the school premises and told the principal and the administration that they must cancel this programme saying it would be a threat to professor Hasan’s security. 

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