Delhi police rejects permission for a public meeting of academicians and activists on Kashmir

On 15th March, the Delhi Police denied permission for a public meeting on Kashmir at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, citing the possibility of “law and order disturbance”, a claim that the organizers say is fictitious. The public meeting was aimed at raising awareness about media blackout in Kashmir, and by denying permission for it, the Delhi police has substantiated the existence of just such a blackout.

The speakers at the event included Delhi University professor Nandita Narain, Hussain Masood, retired judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, CPI (M) leader MY Tarigami, filmmaker Sanjay Kak, Mir Shahid Saleem, Chairman of United Peace Alliance, and Anil Chamadia, a senior journalist. Some of these speakers are political dissidents who stand in opposition to the current Modi-led Hindu nationalist regime that rules India.

According to Narain, one of the speakers of the event, the public meeting was organized by several student and teacher groups. “The speakers were informed about the cancellation, just when they were about to leave for the event. It was not a protest but a public meeting. It was being carried out in a hall and the police had nothing to do with it.”

“This is what is happening. They are entering colleges to stop events. There was to be a discussion on media blackout in Kashmir but this cancellation shows that it is happening everywhere,” she said while speaking to news agency PTI.^[4]

[4] https://thekashmirwalla.com/delhi-police-denies-permission-for-public-meeting-on-kashmir/