THE Delhi State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has strongly condemned the attack on eminent historian S Irfan Habib during the People’s Literature Festival – Samta Utsav held at Delhi University. The event was organised as a democratic and progressive alternative to a right-wing literary festival in Delhi University. It sought to raise demands for stronger UGC regulations against discrimination and institutional harassment in universities, as well as the enactment of the so-called “Rohith Act.”

During the programme, right-wing hooligan elements disrupted the event and physically attacked Prof. S Irfan Habib. This act was not merely an assault on a senior academic, but a direct attack on freedom of expression, academic freedom, and democratic rights within the university campus.

The CPI(M) Delhi State Committee emphasised that such attacks are aimed at silencing scientific and evidence-based understandings of history. The attempt to obstruct Prof. Habib’s lecture on the distortion of history is part of the broader RSS-BJP agenda that seeks to transform universities from spaces of critical inquiry into centres of ideological conformity.

The CPI(M) salutes Prof. Habib’s courage, composure, and commitment. Despite the attack, he continued his lecture and encouraged the students present. The incident once again demonstrates that ideas cannot be crushed through intimidation and violence.

The CPI(M) has demanded that those responsible for the attack be immediately identified and strict action be taken against them. The safety of democratic programmes on university campuses must be ensured, and any assault on the freedom of teachers and students must be firmly dealt with.

Delhi University, like all universities in the country, must remain spaces for debate and discussion—not arenas of violence and intimidation. The CPI(M) calls upon students, teachers, and progressive organisations to unite and resist such communal and fascistic tendencies.