Scientist-poet Gauhar Raza’s talk at IIT-BHU cancelled after ‘pressure from faculty member’

A talk by scientist and Urdu poet Gauhar Raza at the Indian Institute of Technology-BHU in Varanasi was on Tuesday cancelled just hours before it was slated to be held.

Raza said in a social media post that when he tried to ascertain the reason for the cancellation, he was told that a faculty member objected to him delivering the talk and put pressure on the organisers.

Raza was informed in an email on Tuesday morning that the lecture had been cancelled “due to unavoidable circumstances”.

मुझे आज, 'साहित्य, विज्ञान और सामाजिक चेतना' पर IIT, BHU के LIT Club की तरफ़ से आयोजित प्रोग्राम में बोलना था। सुबह ईमेल खोला तो पता लगा प्रोग्राम कैंसिल हो गया। वजह जानने की कोशिश की, पता चला कि वही पुराना राग है: एक फैकल्टी मेम्बर ने मेरे नाम को लेकर एतराज़ किया और फिर आयोजकों… pic.twitter.com/2BT7uyYHEq— gauhar raza (@gauharraza9) September 23, 2025

Raza was to deliver a virtual lecture on the “Confluence of Literature, Science and Consciousness”. The event was organised by the IIT-BHU Lit Club, a group created by students pursuing literary interests.

“It was essentially a literary discussion – a lecture followed by questions and answers,” Raza told Scroll. “I expected barely 20 to 25 students to attend it. But unfortunately, it turned into...

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