AAP MP accuses PU of denying permission for seminar on 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur

Punjab AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang on Sunday alleged that the Panjab University administration refused permission for a seminar on the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur.

Kang claimed he learnt from a students’ organisation that the Panjab University administration denied permission for the seminar scheduled for October 27 over the participation of Sikh scholar and thinker Ajmer Singh, who is being labelled as a “controversial figure”.

Kang said Ajmer Singh, who has been in public life for more than three decades with no case registered against him, has delivered lectures at universities both in India and abroad.

“Barring him from speaking is a direct attack on academic freedom,” Kang alleged in a statement. “While the nation is remembering the sacrifices of the ‘Hind Di Chadar’, discussions on his life are being prohibited at a university in Punjab,” the MP from Anandpur Sahib alleged.

‘Hind Di Chadar’ is an honorary title meaning ‘Shield of India’ given to Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru.

“Guru Tegh Bahadur ji laid down his life to protect the fundamental right to freedom of belief — a sacrifice that remains a cornerstone of India’s pluralistic ethos," he said.

“To commemorate his 350th martyrdom anniversary is not merely a religious obligation but a moral imperative to uphold the principles of justice and equality that he embodied. Denying permission for such an event undermines the very values that Panjab University is duty-bound to uphold as a cradle of learning,” Kang wrote in a letter to the PU vice-chancellor.

“This is not only a matter of respecting the sentiments of the student community, but also for safeguarding the university’s legacy as a bastion of free thought and cultural pride,” Kang said.