Film-maker accuses students of ‘intellectual terrorism’
THE Oxford Union is facing legal action from an Indian film director who claims he was “cancelled” from a debate after exposing anti-Hindu violence.
Vivek Agnihotri says he will launch the action after his talk to the union was rescheduled.
His most recent film The Kashmir Files, which depicts the mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits, a Hindu ethnic group, from the area in the late 1990s, has been criticised for its portrayal of the exodus as a genocide.
The Oxford Union’s decision to invite him to speak prompted a planned protest by the Indian and South Asian societies, who have described Mr Agnihotri as a “known Islamophobe, casteist, and misogynist”.
But the director has described the decision to reschedule his talk at short notice as “intellectual terrorism”, stating: “The problem with the UK is that there is no free speech. Instead of arguing with me, I was cancelled. They have not cancelled me, they have cancelled hundreds of thousands of victims of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide.”
Mr Agnihotri told The Sunday Telegraph: “I was invited by Oxford Union to speak on my film on May 31 2022. Then on the 29th they sent an email giving a typical excuse that they doublebooked the event.
“And on their own, without consulting me or my team, they changed the date to July 1, knowing very well that I was booked to return to India on June 30.
“Strangely, when my team called and asked them the real reasons, the Oxford Union advised that the event could not proceed due to a ‘booking clash concerning the AV [audio-visual] team’.
“The assertions are deeply damaging to my reputation – the persons behind these libels have already caused harm regarding the cancellation of the union event – are deeply distressing and the consequences will continue to be harmful.”
In an email about the booking, written on May 29, Michael-Akolade Ayodeji, the union’s president, said: “There’s been a logistical issue on our end which meant that the speaker event clashes with another event our AV team is booked to film on the same day.”
The Oxford Union was approached for comment.