DU Replaces Democracy Seminar with Cow Welfare Summit, Sparking Debate

DU Replaces Democracy Seminar with Cow Welfare Summit, Sparking Debate

Last Updated Nov - 01 - 2025, 12:44 PM | Source : Fela News | Visitors : 16

Delhi University cancels academic seminar, endorses five day cow welfare summit instead.

The Delhi University (DU) finds itself at the centre of an academic controversy: a planned seminar on “Land, Property and Democratic Rights”, organised by the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) Sociology Department, was abruptly cancelled and at almost the same time, the university directed its colleges to promote a five-day event focused on cow welfare. 

The five-day event, named the Rashtriya Godhan Summit, centres on “the welfare of cows and promotion of cow-based sustainable innovations”. It is scheduled across November 5-9 and invites students and staff to exhibitions and panels featuring over 600 gaushalas (cow shelters) from across India. The Dean of Colleges emailed principals, asking them to circulate this information widely, and invited teaching, non-teaching staff and students to attend. 

The cancellation of the DSE seminar long part of its weekly “Friday Colloquium” series and the simultaneous endorsement of this cow-welfare event has triggered vocal disquiet among faculty and academic associations. They contend that the contrast signals a serious shift away from academic freedom and scientific temperament towards ideological agendas. 

One faculty member, Prof Abha Dev Habib of Miranda House, described the move as a “conscious move away from scientific temper and academic integrity towards the promotion of an unscientific and regressive political agenda.” Meanwhile, the convenor of the colloquium, Prof Nandini Sundar, resigned, stating she could “no longer guarantee the intellectual integrity of the research colloquium and that it will not be cancelled arbitrarily at the last minute.” 

The university administration, for its part, defended its actions. According to DU’s registrar, the seminar was cancelled because the department did not submit the requisite permission in advance. As for the summit invitation, he said the circular was merely “shared” and attendance was voluntary. 

But the sequence of events has raised broader questions: What is the role of a public university? Is it primarily a platform for free intellectual inquiry and critical debate? Or is it becoming a vehicle for broader socio-political campaigns? For students and faculty committed to university life as a space of open critical discussion, the mix sends a worrying message.

In the end, the episode may reshape expectations of what a university environment offers not just courses and degrees, but the culture of free enquiry. In that light, how DU navigates this moment will matter for Indian higher education.
 

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