Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) issued the following press statement on August 14, 2026:

Sahmat condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the manner in which the Delhi police and the “security establishment” has begun to operate as agents of various outfits of the Hindutva brigade. The latest evidence of this surrender to the Sangh Parivar was on display this morning (14th August 2026) in Delhi at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, run by the Gujarat Education Society and named after the first Home Minister of India.

Sardar Patel Vidyalaya had invited Zoya Hasan, Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University, as the Chief Guest to the Independence Day celebrations at the school, and she was to address the students on "Why Pluralism Matters". The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) began putting pressure on the school authorities a few days back to not call Professor Zoya Hasan, but the school refused to succumb. This morning about 15 VHP goons gathered outside the school gates and the police, who were present there in numbers much larger than the objectors, instead of dispersing the disruptors, forced the school authorities to cancel the talk, claiming that there was a threat to Professor Zoya Hasan's safety! Although the so-called threat emanated from a mere 15 VHP hoodlums, our 'efficient' police establishment proved itself incapable of neutralising them and instead prevented Professor Zoya Hasan from speaking to the students on pluralism, a cornerstone of our Constitution.

Sahmat stands with the students, teachers and management of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya who stood their ground in the face of the surrender of the police before the VHP. We call upon the student community, the academia, the creative community and all those who stand for freedom of expression and for a plural society, to resist such undemocratic tendencies.