New Delhi [India], February 26 : Student protestors of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) led by JNUSU (Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union) were on Thursday detained by Delhi Police after they took out a protest against Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit.
The protestors were demanding the VC's resignation over her allegedly hateful remarks regarding Dalits and Blacks, made on a podcast published on February 16, and seeking to voice their grievances to the Education Ministry.
The students were scheduled to march from JNU Sabarmati T point to the Ministry of Education. However, the university gates were locked by the security personnel, and barricades were placed outside the university to prevent the protest.
Enraged protestors, comprising JNUSU and left-affiliated student groups, including AISF, SFI, PDSU and NSUI carried posters, flags of the federation and portraits of B R Ambedkar and tried to break free the locks.
After the protestors broke multiple locks with stones, the police attempted to stop them as they tried to move past the barricade. The scuffle worsened the situation, and the police and security forces began to detain the student protestors.
The students, while being detailed, expressed outrage over the locking of university gates, alleged police brutality and suppression of their rights to protest and march for their educational and university-related demands.
"How dare you lock the university? Shame on you. You don't even let us march for our rights. Hooligans are walking free while we students marching for our universities and education are being treated this way. We are thrashed and detained," a detained student stated.
Earlier on Monday, an alleged clash had erupted at JNU between the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-affiliated student groups resulted in several students being injured and leading to conflicting accounts from both sides.
While ABVP State Joint Secretary Vikas Patel spoke toabout the alleged clash, claiming that the left-wing pre-planned the attack in the guise of a student march, JNUSU President Aditi Mishra claimed that the "goons and sanghis" were sent by the Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit as the students were protesting her allegedly hateful remarks.
The controversy stems from Pandit's remarks in the podcast while discussing the UGC's proposed 2026 Equity (Anti-Discrimination) Regulations aimed at addressing caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions.
In a clip circulating online, she was heard saying that Dalits and Blacks "cannot progress by being permanently a victim or playing the victim card," triggering sharp reactions from student groups.
However, the VC defended her recent remarks regarding Dalits and Blacks, saying her comments were taken out of context and misrepresented for "political purposes" by certain groups.
Clarifying her position while speaking toover the phone, Pandit said she had not made any statement against Dalits but was speaking against what she termed "wokes" who use such identities politically.
"I am against anybody being made into a permanent victim or a permanent oppressor. That is my position," she said.
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