University of Madras: There is a DMK government in Tamil Nadu. Its leaders call Hinduism a disease. They compare it to dengue and malaria. They make fun of the faith of crores of Sanatanis by insulting the Hindu Gods.

BJP leaders accuse the DMK government of suppressing Hindus and showering love on minorities and glorifying them. Meanwhile, the oldest university here announced to ask ‘How to spread Christianity in India’, which created an uproar. When the matter came out, it reached the corridors of power and the Raj Bhavan and after the protest by Hindu organizations, Madras University had to cancel that lecture.

Lecture on ‘How to spread Christianity in India’

The lecture on ‘How to spread Christianity in India’ scheduled for March 14 at the University of Madras was cancelled following protests by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Hindu organisations and criticism on social media. BJP secretary SG Surya raised the issue and condemned the university administration for organising the event.

Sir S Subramania Iyer Endowment Lecture’ 2024-2025

The controversy began after the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology of the University of Madras formally announced the organisation of the ‘Sir S Subramania Iyer Endowment Lecture’ 2024-2025 by Hyderabad Chief Engineer K. Shiva Kumar.

Uproar on social media

Many people criticised the topics of the lecture that went viral on social media: ‘How to spread Christianity in India’ and ‘Why is this path needed?’ Soon after the announcement of the program, many people criticized the Madras University, alleging that it was turning the temple of education into a means of propagating Christianity.

The matter reached the Governor

The Madras University announced the cancellation of the lecture after criticism. In a letter sent to the Raj Bhavan on March 7, Registrar Professor S Elumalai said that the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology did not take permission from the Madras University to organize special lectures on the said subjects.

The Registrar said, ‘In view of this, we have instructed the concerned person to cancel the special lecture with immediate effect.’

ABVP gave massive protest

The ABVP said in a post on ‘X’ that its effort stopped the religious lecture at the Madras University. The ABVP termed the topics of the lecture, including ‘How to spread Christianity in India’, as religious propaganda and inappropriate for a state university. The ABVP claimed that the university administration canceled the program after its objection. ABVP claimed, “This reflects ABVP’s commitment to prevent the promotion of biased ideologies within universities.”