Amid war in Gaza, Indian university cancels panels by Palestinian, Iranian, Lebanese envoys: Report

​​​​​​​By Anadolu staff

Amid wars in Gaza and Lebanon, an Indian university canceled three seminars that were set to be addressed separately by envoys of Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon in New Delhi, a local media report said on Friday.

The seminars were organized by the Centre for West Asian Studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and canceled due to “unavoidable circumstances,” the local daily The Indian Express reported.

It said Iranian Ambassador to India Iraj Elahi had been scheduled to address a seminar -- titled How Iran sees the recent developments in West Asia -- on Thursday. However, participants were told on the morning of the event day that the event had been canceled.

The Indian public and private institutions in the country refer to what is widely known as the Middle East as West Asia.

A coordinator sent an e-mail to the students also announcing the cancelation of the Nov. 7 panel "on the violence in Palestine,” which was to be addressed by Palestinian Ambassador Adnan Abu Al-Haija, and the Nov. 14 panel on the situation in Lebanon, which was planned to be addressed by Lebanese Ambassador Rabie Narsh.

The report said university sources attributed the cancelations to “concerns raised by senior faculty members at the School of International Studies (under which the Centre for West Asian Studies operates), regarding potential protests that such seminars on polarising issues could provoke on campus.”

“There were concerns about how the campus might react,” the daily said.

The university has yet to issue an official statement about the matter.

The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,400 others injured, according to local health authorities. Since Oct. 1 this year, Israel has expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

At least 2,574 people have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

India has seen the government acting against pro-Palestine protests or social media posts with authorities filing at least 17 cases against 51 people.

In September, India’s Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation that had sought an order for the federal government to halt licenses to Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

Earlier, a group of eminent citizens in India had written to the country’s defense minister, calling on him to halt the licensing process that enables exporters to send arms and ammunition to Israel.