Instead, UP Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani took the duo's place in a panel discussion on "Harvard without Borders: Mapping the Kumbh Mela" - a Harvard study of the pilgrimage at an annual symposium on South Asia hosted by theu00a0university's South Asia Institute (SAI).

An announcement posted on the SAI website Friday said "Due to unforeseen circumstances, today's panel speaker will be Shri Jawed Usmani (Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Government-India)" in place of Yadav and Khan.