Planned Lecture on Christian Evangelism at Madras University Cancelled After Protests

Chennai- A controversial lecture titled "How to Spread Christianity in India" scheduled to take place at the University of Madras on March 14 has been cancelled following significant backlash from student organizations, Hindu groups, and social media users.

The event, which was part of the Sir S Subramania Ayyar Endowment Lecture 2024-2025, was to be delivered by K. Siva Kumar, a Chief Engineer from Hyderabad. The Department of Ancient History and Archaeology had organized the lecture, which also included a topic titled "Why Need This Margam" (Path).

After the invitation went viral online, the university faced mounting criticism, with many questioning the appropriateness of holding such an event at a public educational institution. BJP State Secretary S. G. Suryah was among those who condemned the university authorities for organizing the lecture.

In response to the growing controversy, University Registrar Prof. S. Elumalai announced the cancellation and informed Raj Bhavan that the department had failed to obtain necessary prior approval for the endowment lecture. "In view of this, we instructed the concerned individual to cancel the lecture with immediate effect," Elumalai stated.

J. Soundararajan, Associate Professor and Head-in-Charge of the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, confirmed the cancellation, citing "administrative reasons."

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) claimed responsibility for stopping what they described as religious propaganda inappropriate for a state university. "This demonstrates ABVP's commitment to preventing the promotion of biased ideologies within universities," the organization posted on social media platform X.

S. Gurumurthy, political commentator and editor of Thuglak Tamil Weekly, criticized the event as an attempt to influence academic institutions and called for accountability beyond mere cancellation.

Critics questioned the relevance of such topics to archaeology and accused evangelical groups of attempting to systematically influence educational institutions. One social media user commented, "How on earth are these topics related to archaeology? This is getting crazier by the day!"

This incident follows a similar controversy from 2020, when the university's Department of Christian Studies faced backlash for attempting to hold a conference on South Asian religion that some alleged had an anti-Hindu agenda.

The cancellation has reignited debates about religious influence in academic settings and the appropriate boundaries for ideological discussions within public universities