THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The head of Kerala University’s Sanskrit department has been booked for allegedly making casteist remarks against a research scholar.
C N Vijayakumari, head of the department and dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Karyavattom campus, was booked under the stringent SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act by the Sreekaryam police.
The FIR was registered on Saturday based on a complaint by Vipin Vijayan, who alleged that the professor had used casteist slurs against him since he joined the MPhil programme.
According to the complaint, the professor had refused to sign Vipin’s thesis after his open defence. Since the signature was required to complete his PhD, Vipin approached her again, when she allegedly verbally abused him using casteist remarks.
According to Vipin, he has faced casteist humiliation from Vijayakumari since 2015, when he joined the MPhil programme.
Vijayalakshmi had earlier denied the allegation, saying she refused to sign Vipin’s thesis as he did not have proficiency in Sanskrit. She also claimed that his thesis contained glaring mistakes and did not meet the required standards.
Vipin, an SFI leader in Karyavattom campus, did his dissertation on spiritual leader Chattambi Swamikal.
The chairman of the board of examiners recommended awarding PhD to the candidate, but Vijayakumari reportedly wrote to Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnumal raising objections.