The Times of India - August 5, 2004
DU teachers protest cancellation of Geelani exhibition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, AUGUST 05, 2004 12:49:03 AM ]
NEW DELHI: Along with the rising mercury, tempers too arose at DU on Wednesday when 80-odd teachers decided to tackle the vice-chancellor at his office. They were protesting the scrapping of the exhibition on A R Geelani, organised by the All India Defence Committee for Syed A R Geelani.
Part of a group called DU Teachers for A R Geelani, the teachers went away furious when the V-C refused to meet them. Said Tripta Wahi, a member of the group, "This is the first time in DU's history that the V-C refused to meet anyone."
The exhibition was to start on August 2. "It was cancelled without informing us," said Wahi. Earlier, the head of the sociology department had reportedly given permission for hosting the exhibition, but later retracted, citing security threats.
Vibha Maurya, head of the Germanic and Romance Studies department, where a seminar on the same subject was scheduled, said, "I was given to understand that there could be a disruption." She maintained that the reason for the cancellation of the programme was on the advice of 'higher authorities'. On Monday, ABVP had staged a demonstration against the exhibition, saying that it was anti-national.
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