NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) has called for a nationwide protest and demanded the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit over her recent statement comparing the assertion of Dalit rights to being "drugged by victimhood."
In a statement issued on Friday, the student body said it was "shocked and ashamed" by the "blatantly casteist" remarks made by Dhulipudi. She made the comments while speaking on affirmative action and social justice during a podcast released on February 16.
According to JNUSU, the VC first referred to her association with Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, the women's wing of RSS and described it as shaping her worldview.
She then reportedly termed the newly introduced UGC regulations as "unnecessary" and "irrational." The VC went on to compare policies meant to address historical caste-based discrimination with "a type of drug."
"You cannot progress by being permanently a victim or playing the victim card. This was done for the Blacks; the same thing was brought for Dalits here," she said, according to the JNUSU statement.
Calling the remarks "abhorrent," the JNUSU said such views reflected a deep insensitivity towards the history of caste-based exclusion and structural injustice in universities and public institutions.
"This is not merely an individual opinion but a worldview that denies the lived realities of Dalits and other marginalised communities," the student's union said, adding that the comments trivialised discrimination faced by generations.
JNUSU appealed to student organisations and unions across the country to condemn the statements and announced a "national protest day" on Saturday, February 21, demanding the VC’s resignation.
It said the head of a premier public university could not be allowed to hold office after making remarks that "legitimise caste prejudice."
The controversy came at a time when debates around UGC equity regulations and social inclusion in higher education are intensifying across campuses. Meanwhile, JNUSU has been on strike for the past five days against the suspension of its members.