New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan seeking a clarification on the Centre’s stand over the controversial casteist remarks made by JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit. The JNUTA also demanded VC Pandit’s removal.

In an open letter, JNUTA said VC Pandit’s podcast remarks were widely circulated and required an official response. It alleged she spoke of her political allegiance to the government at the Centre and linked it to her appointment.

The association said the implication of her statements was that the government shared her views on caste. It also cited her criticism of the ‘University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026’, notified on January 13, 2026, questioning the Ministry’s silence.

JNUTA stated that while students were stopped and detained by police during a march to the Ministry, no action was taken against the VC. It said the lack of response created an impression that the government was not serious about addressing caste discrimination in higher education institutions.

The teachers’ body recalled its earlier representations in September and November 2025 seeking VC Pandit’s removal, alleging misgovernance, misuse of the ‘None Found Suitable’ provision in reserved appointments, discriminatory promotions, and declining representation of women and SC/ST students.

Referring to the podcast, JNUTA said VC Pandit termed caste discrimination a “manufactured reality” driven by “permanent victimhood”, remarks it called unacceptable and sufficient to make her unfit to head Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Rejecting her claim that the comments were taken out of context, JNUTA said the podcast was publicly available and disputed her assertion that the draft UGC regulations were adopted “secretively”.

The letter, signed by JNUTA President Surajit Mazumdar and Secretary Meenakshi Sundriyal, urged Union Education Minister Pradhan to act at the earliest in the case, saying the Education Ministry’s credibility was at stake in the matter.

–IANS

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