Days after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) canceled a seminar featuring the Iranian Ambassador to India, Dr. Iraj Elahi, as a speaker on West Asian affairs, Dr. Sima Baidya, the event’s coordinator, has been removed from her position.
The announcement came through an internal communication from the Centre for West Asian Studies (CWAS), replacing Dr. Baidya with Dr. Vrushal T. Ghoble, a junior faculty member.
In a terse notification issued on Wednesday, CWAS Chairperson Prof. Sameena Hameed directed Dr. Ghoble to take over the organization of weekly seminars “with immediate effect.” Sources indicate that the communication, accessed by The Hindu, was sent only to Dr. Baidya and Dr. Ghoble, bypassing standard procedures.
A senior faculty member, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the incident, remarked that the abrupt decision appeared to breach typical procedure. “The seminar coordinator position at CWAS rotates among faculty, and generally, all seminar matters are deliberated within the faculty-student committee,” the professor said, suggesting a departure from established norms.
The controversy began on October 22, when Dr. Baidya sent an email invitation for a seminar titled, “How Iran sees the Recent Developments in West Asia.”
The event was intended to feature a lecture by Dr. Elahi, the Iranian Ambassador to India. However, internal meetings reportedly took place among CWAS and School of International Studies (SIS) faculty, with several members voicing reservations over the event, potentially due to the sensitive geopolitical context.
These discussions resulted in Dr. Baidya being urged to cancel the seminar, according to sources familiar with the incident. The Iranian seminar cancellation was followed by two other planned seminars featuring Palestinian and Lebanese envoys, which were similarly called off, further intensifying the controversy within academic circles.
When approached for comment, Prof. Hameed downplayed the decision, stating that “this was merely an internal communication,” implying that wider circulation of the notification among faculty was unnecessary.
The incident has triggered a flurry of discourse within JNU’s faculty, with some members expressing discontent over the handling of the seminar’s cancellation and Dr. Baidya’s removal. While university authorities have not issued an official statement, the incident highlights the ongoing challenges academic institutions are facing in balancing open discourse with complex geopolitical situations.
