Chennai: A lecture titled "How to Spread Christianity in India," scheduled for March 14 at the University of Madras, has been canceled following protests by the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad), Hindu organizations, and widespread outrage on social media. BJP state secretary S.G. Suryah criticized the university authorities for organizing the event.
The controversy began when the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Madras formally announced the Sir S. Subramania Ayyar Endowment Lecture for 2024-2025. The lecture was to be delivered by K. Siva Kumar, Chief Engineer from Hyderabad, on the topics: "How to Spread Christianity in India" and "Why Need This Margam."
The invitation, which went viral on social media, faced severe backlash. Many individuals took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to criticize the University of Madras, accusing it of turning an institution of learning into a platform for promoting Christian propaganda.
Following the uproar, the University of Madras canceled the lecture. In a communication dated March 7 to the Raj Bhavan, Prof. S. Elumalai, the Registrar, stated that the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology had not obtained the necessary approval from the university to hold the endowment lecture on the proposed topics. "In view of this, we instructed the concerned individual to cancel the endowment lecture with immediate effect," the Registrar said.
Earlier that day, J. Soundararajan, Associate Professor and Head in-charge, and Chairperson of the School of Historical Studies at the Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, informed the Registrar that the endowment lecture for the academic year 2024-2025 had been canceled "due to administrative reasons," following questions raised about the event.
In a post on ‘X,’ the ABVP claimed responsibility for halting the lecture. "The lecture’s topics, including ‘How to Spread Christianity in India,’ were flagged by ABVP as religious propaganda unfit for a State University. In response to ABVP’s concerns, the University Administration canceled the event. This demonstrates ABVP’s commitment to preventing the promotion of biased ideologies within universities," the organization stated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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