On 4th June 2026, High Commission of India in London condemned the ‘indecorous audience behaviour’ at a lecture by Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant. The reaction from the High Commission came after video of individuals hackling CJI surfaced online.
— India in the UK (@HCI_London) June 5, 2026
In the official statement, HCI said, “On 04 June 2026, Hon’ble Chief Justice of India attended an event at the University of London, Birkbeck, at the invitation of the organizers, to deliver a lecture on ‘Artificial Intelligence and International Law’.
A lively discussion followed his address. Thereafter, a certain individual tried to disrupt the event. Such indecorous audience behavior is unacceptable and inconsistent with respectful engagement that should govern public discourse. Differences of opinion are a natural part of a democratic society. However, they must be expressed in a manner that is civil and respectful.”
In the viral video, an attendee was seen raising question about the state of dissent in India. CJI was attending an interactive session where he gave a lecture on ‘Artificial Intelligence and International Law’ at Birkbeck College, University of London.
In the 1st video, the lady interrupting CJI Suryakant is not a student but a Professor of Geography and anti-India activist, Kalpana Wilson. She is daughter of Amrit Wilson whose OCI was cancelled by GoI few months ago. She is ideologically aligned to India's CPI(ML). She has a… https://t.co/AeXxhRa7Ma
— Stop Hindu Hate Advocacy Network (SHHAN) (@HinduHate) June 7, 2026
The attendee, a woman, in question, first referred to CJI’s remarks and then asked him about dissent. She was heard saying, “His Lordship made some very important points, I think, about the Indian track record of protecting democracy in the context of AI. We now hear from a number of legal observers within the country as well as internationally that there’s a great deal of concern about growing hostility to dissent within India. And it does seem that this hostility is somewhat reflected in His Lordship’s speech and it’s very well publicised.” Before she could complete the question, the moderator on the stage declined the question as it was not on the topic of discussion.
Later the woman was identified as Kalpana Wilson, daughter of Amrit Wilson. Kalpana is serving as Professor of Geography at the Birbeck University.
Who is Kalpana Wilson?
According to her profile on Birbeck University, she is serving as a Senior Lecture in the School of Social Sciences, and her work revolves around critical international development and social justice. She has done research on topics around race/gender, labour, neoliberalism, and reproductive rights and justice, with a particular focus on South Asia and its diasporas.
Kalpana holds BA (Hons) in Economics from the University of Sussex, and an MA in Area Studies (South Asia). She has also done PhD in Political Economy from SOAS, University of London. Before joining Birbeck, she was employed at the London school of Economics and at SOAS.
However, her academic record cannot overshadow her consistent anti-India activities. Her bio on social media platform X suggests that she writes about “racism and international development, gender, neoliberalism, imperialism and Hindutva fascism” and she identifies herself as “Marxist Feminist”.
Her association with leftist and anti-India networks
Her association with leftist and anti-India networks is not limited to academic writing. Kalpana Wilson has regularly appeared on platforms and in campaigns that paint India, the BJP, RSS and Hindu organisations as fascist, majoritarian and oppressive, while extending support to those accused of anti-national activities or violent mobilisation.
Blaming Hindus for the Leicester violence
In 2022, Kalpana Wilson, her mother Amrit Wilson and their group blamed Hindus for the communal violence in Leicester in the United Kingdom. Instead of acknowledging the targeted violence and intimidation faced by Hindus in the city, their activism focused on blaming “Hindutva” for the tensions. They also protested outside the Indian High Commission in London against what they described as the growing influence of Hindutva in UK politics. OpIndia’s detailed coverage on Leicester violence can be checked here.
Protests against India linked issues
The same network has also been involved in protests on several India linked issues. They protested for waiving Pakistan’s debt, against bulldozer action on illegal constructions in India, against the film The Kashmir Files, which they described as “Turning Tragedy into Propaganda”, supported the farmers’ protest in India, and held a vigil over the 2002 Gujarat violence, projecting it through a familiar anti-Modi lens.
Communist politics and attacks on capitalism
Kalpana Wilson’s ideological position has also shaped her writings on India’s economy and politics. As a Communist Marxist, she has opposed capitalism in India and has accused big industrial houses of spreading inequality and helping the growth of Hindutva. She has described the RSS, BJP and other Hindu groups as “pro capitalist”. Her writings have appeared on the website of the Communist Party of India, Marxist Leninist Liberation, CPI(ML), further underlining her links with leftist political networks.
Stand during the Karnataka hijab controversy
During the hijab controversy in Karnataka, Kalpana Wilson accused the state government of excluding Muslim girls from colleges merely because they expressed their faith by wearing hijab. She also claimed that Muslim girl students were being taunted and harassed by gangs shouting Islamophobic abuse, allegedly empowered by the ruling party. Her framing of the controversy again followed the familiar template of portraying India as hostile to minorities while ignoring the legal and institutional aspects of the debate. Details of Karnataka Hijab row can be checked here.
The original question: don't the #HijabBan, harassment of Muslim girl students by #Sanghi thugs, humiliation of Muslim women students, use of an educational institution for #BajrangDal terrorist arms training, expose @drashwathcn and BJP claims to equity & inclusion in education? pic.twitter.com/EY4qFPpk0P
— SouthAsia Solidarity (@SAsiaSolidarity) May 19, 2022
Support for Stan Swamy
Kalpana Wilson also came out in support of Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest accused by India’s National Investigation Agency of links with the banned CPI (Maoist). Swamy was arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and was accused of being part of a larger Maoist conspiracy. Wilson’s support for him was consistent with the wider leftist campaign that projected him as a human rights activist while downplaying the serious charges levelled by the investigating agency.
Participation in the India EU Summit
In 2021, Kalpana Wilson was one of the speakers at the India EU Summit sponsored by IAMC and Foundation, The London Story. The panel featured several familiar anti-India voices, including Anand Grover, Christophe Jaffrelot, Pradyumna Jairam, Nodeep Kaur, Ravinder Kaur, Umair Khan of the Indian Council of International Muslims, CPI(ML) member Kavita Krishnan, Harsh Mander, Nikhil Mandalaparth and Sravya Tadepalli of Hindus for Human Rights, Ritumbra Manuvie of Foundation, The London Story, Raqeeb Hamid Naik, Karuna Nundy, Aakar Patel, Pamela Philipose, N Ram, Manu Sebastian, Pratik Sinha, Ashok Swain, Audrey Truschke and Richard Wilson, among others.
Speaker at ‘India at the Brink: Preventing Genocide’
She was also a speaker at the event titled “India at the Brink: Preventing Genocide”. The event included Australian Greens Party members David Shoebridge, Janet Rice and Lee Rhiannon, Haroon Kasim of The Humanism Project, Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, CPI(ML) member Kavita Krishnan, Mohan Dutta of Massey University, Pieter Friedrich, former AAP linked IPS officer R B Sreekumar, Teesta Setalvad, IAMC’s Rashid Ahmed, Delhi riots accused Safoora Zargar, Suchitra Vijayan of The Polis Project, Aakar Patel, Raqeeb Hamid Naik, Ritumbra Manuvie, Sunita Viswanath of Hindus for Human Rights and Angana Chatterjee.
Dismissal of Hinduphobia concerns
In another event organised by Educate, Organise, Resist, Australia, Kalpana Wilson and Keval Bharadia attended a session titled “Exposing the Myth of Hinduphobia, Building Anti-Fascist Solidarities”. During the discussion, Wilson said it was “not useful” to describe killings and attacks on temples in Bangladesh as Hinduphobia. She claimed that communal and sectarian violence has existed in South Asia since the colonial period and linked its intensification to the rise of Hindutva in India and the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan. She further argued that attacks on Hindus are not global in the same manner as attacks on Muslims and Jews.
Support for the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference
Wilson also supported the Dismantling Global Hindutva conference, a controversial event that claimed to distinguish between Hinduism and Hindutva, but where several participants pushed arguments that effectively targeted Hindu identity, Hindu organisations and Hindu civilisational assertions under the garb of opposing Hindutva.
“Dismantling Global Hindutva” was a 3-day conference co-sponsored by 60+ Departments or Centres from 45+ Universities, mostly from the US. It took place in September 2021. There were several anti-Hindu elements associated with the conference including Audrey Truschke, Anand Patwardhan and Nandini Sunder.
Links with The Polis Project and anti India Kashmir narratives
In a conversation with The Polis Project in 2019, Kalpana Wilson spoke about “Hindu fascism” and Hindutva ideology. The Polis Project has been known for its anti-India and anti-Hindu positions. Its co-founder Suchitra Vijayan has supported separatist narratives on Kashmir and has appeared on platforms where Pakistan backed anti-India voices have also been present. In the interview, Wilson opposed the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A and claimed that outsiders were buying land and plundering Kashmir after the constitutional changes.
Article 370, Covid lockdown and allegations of fascism
Her views on Kashmir have repeatedly mirrored the language used by separatist and leftist networks. In 2020, while writing on India’s Covid lockdown in an article titled “Locking down rights, ramping up hate: fascism and Covid 19 in India”, Wilson accused the Indian government of using the pandemic to mobilise religious and caste based hate. She also claimed that by abrogating Article 370, India was “occupying” Kashmir through an Israeli style “settler colonialism” and denying Kashmiris access to life saving information through partial internet shutdowns.
Repeated attacks on the Modi government
Her writings have repeatedly described the Modi government as fascist and Hindu supremacist. In her article, she claimed that the pandemic in India had confirmed what many on the left already believed, that the regime represented a form of fascism in which Hindu supremacism and neoliberalism were linked. She claimed that the Modi government’s central focus during the pandemic was to weaponise the virus as part of its ideological project.
Support for Umar Khalid and call to repeal UAPA
Kalpana Wilson has also extended support to Umar Khalid, accused in the larger conspiracy case linked to the anti-Hindu Delhi riots of 2020. Khalid has been denied bail by courts, with observations regarding premeditation and the attempt to create unrest during the visit of then US President Donald Trump. Wilson has also called for the repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and demanded the release of so called political prisoners, including Umar Khalid. Details of role of Umar Khalid in larger conspiracy can be checked here and the details of anti-Hindu Delhi Riots 2020 can be checked here.
Who are the criminals? #FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #repealUAPA pic.twitter.com/j1TiNccEnP
— Kalpana Wilson (@KalpanaWilson) September 19, 2020
Attack on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
Her attacks on the Indian government have also extended to flagship welfare and development schemes. In 2017, she made a bizarre comparison between lynchings, development and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, claiming that the Clean India Mission was violent for the poor. The comment reflected her tendency to interpret even sanitation and public welfare initiatives through a rigid ideological lens.
SASG panel and pitch for ‘freeing’ Kashmir
In 2019, the CPI(ML) covered a panel discussion held by the South Asia Solidarity Group (SASG) at SOAS, London, under the title “Resisting Fascism, Building Solidarities, India Kashmir and Beyond”. The event featured Kavita Krishnan, Dibyesh Anand, Amrit Wilson, Kalpana Wilson, Satpal Muma, Sajjad Hassan, Rajratna Ambedkar, Nitasha Kaul and others. The CPI(ML) write up made a pitch for “freeing” Kashmir, once again placing Wilson in the ecosystem that routinely internationalises India’s internal matters and amplifies separatist narratives.
SASG was also condemned by National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in the judgment of Chandan Gupta murder case. The court expressed concerns over the influence of certain NGOs, including Alliance for Justice and Accountability (New York), Citizens for Justice and Peace (Mumbai), Indian American Muslim Council (Washington DC), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (New Delhi), Rihaee Manch (Lucknow), South Asia Solidarity Group (London), and United Against Hate (New Delhi). It stated, “The communal sentiment subtly infiltrates human activities at the ideological level and is often manifested through reports and interventions by such NGOs. This court has often observed that when accused persons involved in anti-national activities are brought for trial, certain advocates, reportedly linked to these NGOs, are already present with vakalatnamas to represent them.” The court also raised questions over the funding of these NGOs. Details of the case, judgment and these NGOs can be checked here.
Praise for CPI(ML) and allegations against NIA
In a 2014 article for The Guardian titled “It’s not just India’s middle classes who have a problem with Narendra Modi”, Kalpana Wilson praised the CPI(ML)’s electoral victory in a village in Bihar. In the same article, she made serious allegations against India’s National Investigation Agency in connection with arrests after the Patna blasts during a Modi rally, claiming that Muslim youths were detained and tortured to extract false confessions. The allegations were made without providing credible evidence.
Writing for Communist website Salvage
Writing for the Communist website Salvage in an article titled “Hedge funds, Hype and Hindu Fascism”, Wilson linked the RSS, cow protection groups, caste, Gujarat 2002, poverty, malnutrition, capitalism and British colonialism to attack Hindutva. In the same piece, she accused Hindutva of being colonial, Brahmanical, patriarchal and masculinist, and claimed that it seeks to homogenise Hinduism. She even alleged that the Hindutva project involved destroying temples of Hindu goddesses and gods whose origins lie in indigenous religions or those worshipped by Dalits.
Signatory to campaigns against India
Kalpana Wilson has also been a signatory to letters condemning alleged assaults on students and staff at Jawaharlal Nehru University, raising the Rohith Vemula case, and criticising the Indian government over violence against women and girls. Her activism, writings and public engagements show a consistent pattern of targeting India, the Modi government, Hindu organisations and Hindutva, while aligning with leftist, Islamist linked and anti-India advocacy networks on international platforms.
OCI card of Kalpana Wilson’s mother revoked, no relief from Delhi High Court
Amrit Wilson, mother of Kalpana Wilson, had lost her OCI previleges for her consistent anti-India stance. She had approached Delhi High Court which refused to intervene saying that the court cannot allow the country to be maligned. Wilson has publicly criticised various policies of the Government of India. She has opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act, CAA, the proposed National Register of Citizens, NRC, and the National Population Register, NPR. She has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in strong terms in public forums, often calling them fascist.
It is important to note that while protests against NRC and NPR were widespread, no operational rules were ever notified for implementation of NRC or NPR at a nationwide level. In addition to criticism of domestic politics, Wilson has participated in international events where India’s legislative measures were described as Islamophobic and as steps towards “ethnic cleansing”. She has also made statements regarding the unrest in Leicester. She claimed that RSS supporters were transported to provoke conflict and to strengthen a narrative of Hindus as victims. Such claims were strongly contested by several community organisations and commentators who cited evidence of Islamist mobs attacking Hindu homes and temples.
Wilson has been associated with the South Asia Solidarity Group based in Britain, which has organised protests outside the Indian High Commission and has frequently posted material critical of the BJP and RSS on social media. The group has portrayed developments in Kashmir through a lens that aligns with separatist narratives and has participated in campaigns framing India as an aggressor in the region.
Her social media activity has included use of symbolic imagery associated with separatist campaigns after the abrogation of Article 370, further placing her in alignment with narratives viewed by the Indian government as hostile to its territorial integrity. In short, both mother and daughter have a long history of anti-India activities.
Not an isolated academic intervention
The hackling of CJI cannot be seen as an isolated event. Kalpana’s presence at the event itself raises questions about her intensions given her history and previous statements.
