The University of Madras has now cancelled a controversial lecture titled “How to Spread Christianity in India” and “Why Need This Margam” following a massive public backlash.
That’s why it is important to raise your voice. The Subramania Ayyar endowment lecture is cancelled now ! https://t.co/nEoJfyt6im
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) March 8, 2025
The event, scheduled under the Sir S. Subramania Ayyar Endowment Lectures by the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, sparked outrage for its blatant religious proselytization under the banner of a secular, taxpayer-funded institution.
The official invitation stated that the lecture that was supposed to be delivered by Er. K. Siva Kumar, went viral on social media, drawing widespread criticism. Many questioned how such overtly religious topics, which have no connection to history or archaeology, were approved in the first place. The invitation explicitly promoted Christian evangelism, raising serious concerns about academic neutrality and the university’s role in religious advocacy.
Subramania Ayyar Endowment Lecture in “University of Madras” on “How to spread Christianity in India!” by one ‘Siva’ Kumar!
Fundamentalism? Fanaticism? Anyone? pic.twitter.com/umXYJWOkAl
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) March 7, 2025
Netizens expressed their shock and disapproval, with many criticizing the university for endorsing a program that seemingly sought to propagate a specific religion rather than focus on historical or archaeological discourse. Some sarcastically questioned whether the university was promoting fundamentalism, while others labeled the event as “absurd” and “bizarre.” The backlash intensified as many pointed out the inappropriate use of a public institution for religious propagation.
In response to the mounting outrage, the university’s Department of Ancient History and Archaeology issued an official letter on 7 March 2025, announcing the cancellation of the event. The letter, signed by Dr. J. Soundararajan, Head of the Department, cited “administrative reasons” for the cancellation but failed to address the core issue of how such a lecture was approved in the first place.
After the issue gained traction, the Registrar of Madras University sent a letter to the Tamil Nadu Governor’s office about the “unauthorized conduct” of the lecture.
The letter stated that the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology has not obtained any permission from Madras University to conduct the Endowment lecture on the said topics.
“In view of this, we instruct the concerned individual to cancel the endowment with immediate effect”, the letter said.
While the cancellation of the lecture may have diffused immediate tensions, the controversy has undoubtedly raised serious concerns about the role of public institutions in maintaining secular academic spaces.
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