3 months ago
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The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) connected Friday termed Vice Chancellor Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit’s comments purportedly made during a caller podcast arsenic “blatantly casteist” and demanded her resignation, adjacent arsenic she refuted the allegation and said her remarks were taken retired of context.
Demanding a nationalist apology, the JNUSU has called for a nationwide protestation connected Sunday.
The contention stems from the podcast released connected February 16 successful which the V-C spoke astir assorted issues, including the ongoing enactment over JNUSU office-bearers’ rustication implicit a protestation against surveillance successful the library, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) equity regulations, which were stayed by the Supreme Court past month.
In the podcast, the V-C could beryllium heard purportedly saying, “You cannot advancement by being permanently a unfortunate oregon playing the unfortunate card. This was done for the Blacks; the aforesaid happening was brought for Dalits here. By making idiosyncratic a devil, it is not casual to progress. It is simply a impermanent benignant of cause [sic]”. She besides said that imaginary worlds are created successful the sanction of “wokeism”.
In a statement, the students’ national said: “The JNUSU condemns the blatantly casteist statements made by the V-C of a premier nationalist university.”
Refuting the allegations, Ms. Pandit told The Hindu that she did not mean it and was simply replicating the criticisms made by radical who reason “wokeism”.
Responding to the outrage implicit her stance connected the UGC equity rules, Ms. Pandit said, “When it (UGC regulations) was criticised, I felt the full contention was unnecessary and determination is suspicion that owed diligence was not enactment in. This is the perception. I americium a Bahujan myself.”
In effect to the V-C’s comments, JNUSU joint caput Danish Ali, 1 of the 4 office-bearers rusticated for 2 semesters, said, “You request to realise that we unrecorded successful a state wherever determination is caste-based favoritism each azygous day. Many students from marginalised communities look favoritism connected campuses...”
