Madras University cancels lecture on spreading Christianity

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A lecture titled ‘How to spread Christianity in India’ and ‘Why we need this margam,’ scheduled to be held at the University of Madras in Tamil Nadu, was cancelled following widespread criticism on social media.

The event, organised under the Subramania Ayyar Endowment Lecture series by the Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, came under intense scrutiny over its theme, leading to its abrupt cancellation.

The controversy erupted after the lecture’s invitation, issued by department head Dr J Soundararajan, went viral on social media.

The event, set to be delivered by engineer K Siva Kumar on Mar 14, drew sharp criticism, with users questioning the relevance of an “overtly religious topic” in a history and archaeology department.

Amid mounting backlash, the department released a statement on March 7 announcing that the event was cancelled due to “administrative reasons”.