© private News from the HU Berlin Public Keynote Lecture by Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta on Academic Freedom In his lecture on July 4 in Berlin, Pratap Mehta will offer reflections on the question of why academic freedom has become such an object of contention in contemporary democracies. The talk will draw on examples from the United States, India and Europe to delve into the intellectual and political foundations of academic freedom, and why these might erode.