CHENNAI: Renowned academician and former vice chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Dr V Vasanthi Devi died after suffering a cardiac arrest at her residence in Velachery on Friday afternoon. She was 86.
Chief Minister MK Stalin and political leaders of various parties paid rich tributes, recalling her contributions to the education sector and to the fields of gender, human rights and environment.
Sources close to the family said she complained of uneasiness at her home late in the afternoon and within minutes she passed away before she could be rushed to a hospital. Her daughter Ajantha Subramanian, professor of anthropology at the Graduate Centre of the City University of New York, was near her. Dr Devi is also survived by her son Dr Naren Subramanian. As per her wishes, her body will be handed over to Kilpauk Medical College on Saturday.
Born in 1938 in Dindigul, Devi, graduated from Presidency College and later went to the Philippines in the 1970s to pursue her PhD. Devi, who carved a reputation of a progressive academician, remained a leading voice for reforms in the education sector.
She served as the second vice-chancellor of MS University from 1992 to 1998 and as the chairperson of the State Commission for Women in Tamil Nadu between 2002 and 2005. In 1987, she led a teachers’ agitation in the state, highlighting the focus needed for their rights.
Post retirement, she actively engaged with several social causes. She came to media spotlight prominently at the age of 76 when she contested the 2016 election against none other than AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa as a candidate of VCK as part of the People’s Welfare Alliance although she, expectedly, faced a defeat by securing only 2.4 % of votes.
She remained vocal against the National Education Policy 2020, certain changes brought in by the UGC, withholding of TN’s Samagra Shiksha funds and other such issues.
Chief Minister MK Stalin, expressing grief, said her demise is an irreparable loss to the fields of education and human rights. In a statement, he said, Dr Vasanthi Devi would be remembered for her extraordinary service in various high positions.
He recalled her active campaign against the NEP, communalisation of education and centralisation of powers by the Union government. “Till her last breath, Dr Vasanthi Devi fought for equal education for all, and she has been insisting that education should be brought to the State List (in the Constitution) again,” the CM added.
CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said Dr Devi remained closely associated with the left movements and strongly voiced her support in struggles for the rights of the oppressed. “Her death is a great loss to progressive movements and educational institutions,” he said.
TNCC president and MLA K Selvaperunthagai, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, VCK general secretary and MP D Ravikumar also expressed their condolences, recalling her contributions.