Controversial Debate Cancelled at the Last Minute
An Oxford Union (OU) debate on the motion “This House Believes That India’s Policy Towards Pakistan Is a Populist Strategy Sold as Security Policy” ended in chaos on Thursday night and was ultimately cancelled. The debate, organised by Pakistani-origin OU president Moosa Harraj, son of Pakistan’s federal defence production minister Muhammad Raza Hayat Harraj, never officially disclosed the list of speakers.
Key Participants and Last-Minute Changes
Senior advocate J Sai Deepak flew in from Delhi and had to manage his ongoing legal hearings remotely from London to attend the event, having confirmed his participation in July. He was later joined by UK-based J&K activist Manu Khajuria and dharmic scholar Pt Satish K Sharma as last-minute replacements.
Earlier commitments from high-profile figures were withdrawn, including Former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane and Dr Subramanian Swamy. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and marketing consultant Suhel Seth were approached too late to confirm participation. Chaturvedi revealed that the OU contacted her in July, but after she did not confirm, they reached out unexpectedly on November 25, leaving insufficient time to participate.
Confusion and Communication Failures
On November 27, as the trio was preparing to leave, Sai Deepak received a call from the Oxford Union at 3:13 pm local time stating that the Pakistan delegation had not arrived in London. By 4:55 pm, Harraj personally informed Sai that he had known since 10 am that the Pakistani team—Zubair Mahmood Hayat, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and Hina Rabbani Khar, former Pakistan foreign minister—would not be attending. The delegates had declined an offer to debate against students instead.
Adding to the confusion, at 2:44 pm—before Sai received Harraj’s call—the Pakistan High Commission in London tweeted claiming victory, asserting that the Indian delegation had withdrawn. The tweet accused India of avoiding “an open, rules-based forum” and favoring “partisan media platforms,” alleging that its representatives were unwilling to engage in a neutral debate.
Accusations of Mismanagement
Sai Deepak stated that he only learned on Friday that the Pakistani delegation had actually arrived in Oxford. He criticized the event as “shambolic” and accused the Oxford Union of acting as a “mouthpiece for the Pakistan High Commission.” Sai added, “Instead of facilitating a civil debate, Oxford Union has allowed Pakistan to claim a false victory. Had we known the team was present, we would have debated them.”
He further challenged the Pakistani delegates, urging them to show courage and engage in the debate rather than celebrating a premature and unverified triumph. Sai described the situation as a farcical misrepresentation of India’s position and criticized the Pakistani defence minister for failing to provide evidence supporting their claims of success.
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