New Delhi: The Punjab Studies department of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada has cancelled this year’s Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial programme, where journalist Hartosh Singh Bal, the political editor at Caravan magazine, was scheduled to speak.
The event, which was listed to be held online on 7 April, was cancelled “at this time”, said a notice on the university website.
While the notice said the event will be rescheduled and announced in due course, a UBC alumnus has alleged that the cancellation came due to pressure from “radical” Sikh activists in British Columbia, who pointed out that the journalist had earlier praised former Punjab director general of police K.P.S. Gill.
The late IPS officer is credited to have brought the Sikh militancy in Punjab under control. Bal is his nephew.
Columnist Aadil Brar, a UBC alumnus, tweeted against the move and said he will write to university “in protest”.
“UBC Asia Studies has cancelled the lecture where Hartosh Bal was supposed to speak out of pressure from radical elements in British Columbia. I will be writing a letter as an alumnus to UBC in protest. This is a wrong precedent,” he said.
UBC Asia Studies has cancelled the lecture where Hartosh Bal was supposed to speak out of pressure from radical elements in British Columbia. I will be writing a letter as an alumnus to UBC in protest. This is a wrong precedent. https://t.co/CmsFFSx02d
— Aadil Brar (@aadilbrar) April 10, 2021
ThePrint reached CISAR for a comment via email but there was no response until the time of publishing of this report. This report will be updated with the response once received.
Speaking to ThePrint about the events, Bal said the programme was cancelled amid pressure from ‘SSA’. This was seemingly a reference to Sikh Students Association in the university. He also questioned the UBC’s norms on free speech.
“I was invited by the university to speak on farm laws. An invitation was extended through WhatsApp. Later on, I was told that they had to cancel the event due to pressure from some SSA. At the same time many were also pointing to an article written by me on KPS Gill but I fail to understand what the link is between farm laws and the article that I wrote years back,” he said.
“What is important to note is, how does a university operate like this? What norms are there for free speech or whether there are any norms,” Bal said, adding that he stands by what he wrote on Gill but that’s not the “real issue” here.
Prior to the cancellation too, there were reports about pressure on the university to not hold the event.
Also read: There’s a new Shudra-Dalit unity in north Indian villages thanks to the farm protests
‘Liberal apologist’
On social media, some handles pointed to Bal’s links with the late IPS officer, in an attempt to highlight his alleged hypocrisy.
“Hartosh Bal is classic case of liberal apologist, who frequently write against dangers of rise of Hindutva and ask all the right questions but when confronted with legacy of his uncle KPS Gill, Apparently then GILL was just a misunderstood anti-hero.#rehabilitatingKPSGILL (sic),” tweeted an account called Khalra Mission Org.
Hartosh Bal is classic case of liberal apologist, who frequently write against dangers of rise of Hindutva and ask all the right questions but when confronted with legacy of his uncle KPS Gill, Apparently then GILL was just a misunderstood anti-hero.#rehabilitatingKPSGILL pic.twitter.com/rFSL4lIswC
— Khalra Mission Org (@khalramission) April 5, 2021
Bal had been invited to speak on the ongoing farmers’ protest in India seeking repeal of farm laws passed last year.
The UBC’s Harjit Kaur Sidhu Memorial programme celebrates the rich life of Punjabi language and culture and its importance in British Columbia, in memory of a woman who shared such passions, according to the university website.
(An erroneous reference to Sara Shneiderman as the co-director of UBC’s Centre for India and South Asia Research (CISAR) has been removed. The error is regretted.)
Also read: ‘May I know your nationality?’: How China responded to journalist’s question on human rights
The Dalals of Dalals have no place to hide . With money going to the Farmer’s account directly, some 40000 Artiyas came out openly for the first time demanding their pound of flesh. Making it very clear as to whos agitation it was.
Now it will be interesting to see how many farmers will continue to agitate for sending their money via Brokers and how will the so called intellectual liberals, the middlemen of of the middlemen will justify that payment going through their client middlemen.
The DALAL cookie is crumbling every where, might take it a little longer to it happen in the intellectual liberals space.
Wokes thinking they’ll pump up a monster and it’ll not devour them in the end.
Liberals getting taste of own medicine.
I am not fan of Bal but condemn such limitation on freedom of speech
Guess the shoe is on the other foot this time for Mr. Bal
So Hartosh Bal is now getting a taste of his own medicine. It will be interesting to see the way he will link this mentality to that RSS and will end up criticising RSS more than his fellow radical Sikhs.