Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) It is nationalist like any other university in India, said the first woman vice-chancellor of the central university, which has recently witnessed a dispute between two student unions over serving of meat in hostel mess during Navratri.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Shantisree Dhupudi Pandit, the first alumnus to become the VC of JNU, said that the recent incident was “unfortunate” where “passion took over logic”.
“I spoke to agitated students on both sides and promised that there is zero tolerance for violence, and we want students to perform all rituals as I believe in diversity and difference. It has to be accepted and celebrated,” the JNU VC told News18.
in video | JNU VC in exclusive interview with News18
“I am for diversity. I believe there should be multiple narratives, not just Left hegemony. The Left also understands that things are changing in India,” the Vice Chancellor said.
“There may be some people who may not agree with me, but as a VC I can promise that there is room not only for the Left but also for other narratives. JNU is one of the greatest institutions that modern India has built and we want to move beyond it with continuity and change as we have to change with the contemporary times. We are universal but first we are nationalists.”
We are sovereign but first we are nationalists… Even the Left understands that things are changing.
“Students are here to study and are committed to academics, there is always a fringe. JNU gets more attention than other universities,” she said.
The VC said that “JNU is a secular institution and everyone here belongs to JNU first and identity comes later.” Stating that violence of any kind is not accepted in the JNU campus, he also said that the students also do not want to. violence.
“JNU is as nationalist as any other university. We are free and diverse. JNU is a battleground for ideas. Our academic environment, but when they break boundaries, it creates problems,” the VC said.
Most of the students think that freedom has little responsibility because in JNU you can get anything and you don’t get in trouble because we allow student activism, it is a part of our academic environment but when they break the limits If so, it creates problems
The newly appointed VC said it was his commitment that JNU should be known for its academic excellence and being home to some of the best minds of the country. He also assured that such incident will not happen again in JNU.
“Most of the faculty are my contemporaries, so they are very understanding. Yes, we can have disagreements but they have had very decent interactions and have been extremely cooperative. The senior (student) leaders are also very understanding and I am sure that No such incident will happen again. It is my commitment as I am here as an academic, I am here to prove that JNU is one of the best institutes.”
90% of the students have come here to study and they have a sense of accountability. They understand that any such incident is a blot on the university and it will affect their career as well. We need to see how we can take different measures where the passion does not cross the border and ends in violence, the VC said.
“No matter the problem, we are all part of the solution,” he said. He said that the university is going through a transition like the rest of the country.
Stating that JNU follows a democratic system, the VC pointed out that the issues related to the mess are not administered by the JNU administration, and are actually run and decentralized by the students. Stating that all the hostels have the same menu, but the controversy took place in only one hostel mess.
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