New Delhi:
The British Council, UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, said it will remain closed on Thursday due to protests against the new citizenship law in parts of Delhi.
The closure has resulted in the cancelling of the book launch of “Forgotten Master: Indian Painting For the East Indian Company”, edited by celebrated author-historian William Dalrymple. The event was to be held at 6:30 pm at the council’s premises on KG Marg, near Connaught Place.
In a statement, the council said they will be closed for the day due to the “protest happening in the close proximity” of their building and “in the interest of safety of their customers and staff”.
“Please also note that the ‘Forgotten Masters’ book launch scheduled for today evening also stands cancelled,” it added.
An official from publishing house Bloomsbury said, “We were told that we can’t have the book launch due to the ongoing protest in the capital against the citizen amendment law. Now, we will have the book launch next year in January, after the New Delhi World Book Fair (Jan 4-12).”
Various parts of the Delhi were hit by anti-citizenship law protests Thursday.
Telecom operators had to suspend internet, voice and messaging services in parts of Delhi-NCR after instructions from the police in the wake of the protests.
Areas where the services were suspended included the walled city areas of north and central districts, Mandi House, Seelampur, Jaffarabad, Mustafabad, Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh and Bawana.
