Delhi University Faces Backlash After Democracy Seminar Is Cancelled
Cancellation Announced the Day Staff Were Urged to Attend a Cow Welfare Summit
November 17, 2025
According to report published in CNN, Delhi University cancelled a long-running seminar on democracy on the same day it issued a directive urging staff and students to attend a summit on cow welfare. The overlap sparked anger among professors and students who said it showed pressure from the government to push Hindu nationalist interests inside public universities.
The cancelled seminar, part of a six-decade academic series and scheduled for October 31, was meant to discuss land, property and democratic rights, according to the news report published on November 16. The organisers said they received no explanation before the event was stopped, and they argue that the move fits a larger pattern of restricting discussions that question government policies.
The administration reportedly defended itself by saying the seminar lacked prior permission, a claim professors disputed by pointing out that such permission had never been required in the past.
The cow welfare summit, supported by an NGO linked with the government, was promoted as an event on sustainable innovations connected to cattle.
The Dean of Colleges reportedly said the university was supporting the summit rather than promoting it, adding that support for such events was in the country’s interest. Critics responded by saying that the university’s enthusiasm for the summit, combined with the cancellation of a seminar on democratic rights, signalled an ideological tilt.
Students and teachers describe growing limits on academic freedom, stricter administrative oversight and fear of backlash when working on subjects viewed as politically sensitive, according to CNN, which said that groups that track academic freedom say Indian universities have seen rising interference in academic syllabi, restrictions on lectures, and more events centred on Hindu nationalism.
Critics argue that the university episode sits within this larger political landscape, where cattle protection is tied to majoritarian politics.
Many faculty members fear that spaces for dissent, research and critical thought are steadily eroding.
These spaces matter because they allow society to understand itself with clarity. When universities, libraries and other public forums lose the freedom to question power or examine uncomfortable subjects, citizens lose access to knowledge that helps them make informed choices. These spaces act as early warning systems, revealing gaps in policy, failures in governance or risks to fundamental rights.
A society also depends on open inquiry to correct its own mistakes. Research that challenges official claims, exposes social harm or offers new evidence is essential for improving laws, institutions and public life. If such work becomes harder, the country risks relying on incomplete or misleading information. That affects everyone, because decisions in health, education, environment, development and justice rest on the quality of knowledge produced. When the space to produce that knowledge gets smaller, the quality of public life gets smaller with it.
You have just read a News Briefing by Newsreel Asia, written to cut through the noise and present a single story for the day that matters to you. Certain briefings, based on media reports, seek to keep readers informed about events across India, others offer a perspective rooted in humanitarian concerns and some provide our own exclusive reporting. We encourage you to read the News Briefing each day. Our objective is to help you become not just an informed citizen, but an engaged and responsible one.
