 They were joined by Ania Loomba and Suvir Kaul, both Indian-American UPenn professors, who were critical of Modi's handling of the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots, started formal a petition demanding the cancellation of the invitation, failing which they would protest his virtual presence at the event.The petition was sent to Amy Gutmann, the UPenn president.The university leadership stepped in to diffuse what it saw as a potentially explosive situation.