Vivek Agnihotri Declines Oxford Union Debate on Kashmir, Calls Theme 'Offensive, Anti-India'

The Kashmir Files director, Vivek Agnihotri, on Thursday said he has declined an invitation by Oxford Union, to debate on Kashmir, as he found the theme “offensive” and “anti-India”.

The development was confirmed by Agnihotri in an X post.

“I was invited by the prestigious Oxford Union to debate on Kashmir. I found the theme offensive, anti-India, and anti-Kashmir,” the director tweeted.

“On principle, I have declined the offer,” he added.

Agnihotri also uploaded a copy of the invite sent to him by Oxford Union, and a copy of his response declining the invite.

The official invite termed Agnihotri “one of the most well-equipped individuals to talk on this challenging topic in today’s highly pressing climate”.

The invite also stated the other invitees included British MP Naz Shah and the present Defence Minister of Pakistan.

It stated the invitees also included an Indian Supreme Court Justice.

In his response declining the invite, Agnihotri wrote, “Your invitation to debate ‘This House Believes in an Independent State of Kashmir’ is a direct challenge to India’s sovereignty, and it is unacceptable to me.”

“I find it not just obnoxious but offensive- not just to 1.4 billion Indians but also as a humiliation of hundreds of thousands of displaced Indigenous Hindu victims of the Kashmir genocide of 1990. Framing it as a debate feels like turning a tragedy into a parlor game where the stakes are human lives and the cost is in the blood, not just ink,” Agnihotri stated in the letter to Oxford Union.

“Kashmir’s story is not a debate topic,” he further wrote.

In 2022, the Oxford Union had cancelled Agnihotri’s Humanity Tour event at the Oxford University.

Agnihotri then had stated that the then-elected President of the Oxford Union Society was a Pakistani national and that he favoured the anti-India stance.