Overview
- SNDT Women’s University called off the 16th Neera Desai Memorial Lecture scheduled for March 14 featuring historian Uma Chakravarti, according to university officials.
- Chakravarti said she was informed by phone on Friday that the programme would not proceed and that no detailed explanation was offered.
- Professor Pratul Sathe attributed the decision to “technical reasons”, and the university has not issued a fuller public statement.
- The lecture was announced via a poster listing the Research Centre for Women’s Studies and Maharashtra Stree Mukti Parishad as organisers, with a planned screening of Chakravarti’s documentary.
- Unnamed university sources reported that cancellation discussions began after social-media criticism of Chakravarti’s caste-focused work; Vice Chancellor Ujwala Chakradeo said she was not aware of the event, and activists warned the decision could chill discourse on campus.