OP Jindal University has been embroiled in a series of controversies lately and with the announcement of a workshop titled "Story of Israel: 'A Nation that Dwells Alone'" being organised by the Centre for Israel Studies of the Jindal School of International Affairs, the varsity is again garnering flak from the students. The workshop is scheduled to take place between January 17 and 23, 2024.
The official pamphlet on the workshop reveals that it is an international workshop inviting 40 participants from all over India and will hold academic sessions and activities for seven days straight, with Prof Khinvraj Jangid, an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Israel Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs, and two fellow academicians, Prof Paula Kabalo from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel and Dr Tomer Persico of Hartman Institute, Jerusalem, Israel.
The details of the workshop, as per the digital pamphlet, are that it would explore the story of Israel and its vibrant society, foreign policy, and its successes and failures after 75 years of its establishment. It would also delve into a case study of "the nuances of nation-building and people's struggle for democratic aspirations in post-colonial Asia."
Lastly, the pamphlet calls Israel a "sister democracy" of India and states that the workshop would present fascinating as well as complex debates between war and peace, nationalism and universalism, religion and state, and so on, which makes the workshop more important for our times.
Workshop in tune with what it preaches?
An open letter addressed to the professors, scholars, and students of the university by a student-led study circle of the college, Safdar Hashmi Reading Circle (username @safdarhashmireadingcircle on Instagram), says, "Right from its title, this workshop contains numerous ideologically loaded assumptions and views, all grounded in the theologico-political set of beliefs known as Zionism." The open letter was posted online on Friday, January 12.
It further goes on to say how the workshop can be problematic as Israel continues to maintain an apartheid policy, proof being the ongoing Israel-Hamas War and the grave atrocities it is leading to.
The open statement notes how India's anti-apartheid values go against the war atrocities carried out by the Israeli Government, hinting at the nature of the workshop and the policy of the government not being in tandem, which may give rise to further controversies.
It also points out the problem with the title 'A Nation that Dwells Alone' as it builds a narrative of Palestinians as aggressors.
As Israel is facing a hearing on genocide in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the open letter states that "it is unbecoming for our institution to perpetuate a logic of mass destruction."
Another student studying at the university questions if this is the academic discourse the university wants to promote. "The Centre for Israel Studies has existed for some time now and being an old department maintains an autonomy of its own, but now it is receiving opposition from faculties and students alike," she says.
Workshop coordinator speaks
Prof Khinvraj Jangid is an Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Israel Studies, Jindal School of International Affairs at the university and the workshop coordinator for the event. EdexLive reached out to the professor and inquired about the nature of the workshop and if the workshop is "unbecoming for the institution to perpetuate a logic for mass destruction"? Prof Jangid emphasised how the workshop is true to academic inquiry and is aimed only at educating individuals and not prioritising a particular discourse. Rather, he said, that the workshop will maintain an all-encompassing character.
"When it comes to finding out certain things, one must prioritise education, and not directly jump to a conclusion about right or wrong. The title of the workshop as one must have seen is within inverted commas, meaning that one can certainly question the nature of the title, and therefore, the discussion at the workshop will not be limited," he said.
Regarding the recent events that took place at the university revolving around Prof Achin Vanaik's talk and if the upcoming talk would garner negative attention, the professor responded that the decision to hold the workshop by the Centre for Israel Studies was taken a year ago and is not a recent one. "I cannot possibly say what people's reactions will be but we are academicians, holding an academic talk, in an academic space. What outsiders make out of the talk, is their discretion. This workshop is academic and there is no political inclination," he added.
However, given the students' condemnation of the workshop, he takes the feedback of the students in true academic spirit and commends the vibrant academic space of the university. "To the contrary, I commend the ability of the students to question, which is definitive of a healthy academic ethos."
In the past...
On November 1, 2023, the university organised an event titled History and Politics of the Palestinian Present which was delivered by Professor Achin Vanaik, a retired professor of International Relations and former head of the Department of Political Science at the Delhi University (DU). When several video clips from the lecture were circulated online, the talk faced severe backlash along with allegations that it was "anti-hindu" and "anti-semitic" in nature.
Prof Vanaik, who is also a critically acclaimed author, was asked to express regret over it. According to a report by The Hindu, he had informed the university that he stands by what he said, and his words at the talk were taken out of context.
