‘Hatred’ for Dalits: JNUSU ex-president moves National Commission for Scheduled Castes against JNU VC

The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Dhananjay has filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes against JNU vice-chancellor, Santishree D. Pandit, alleging that remarks made by her in a public podcast promote “enmity, hatred and ill-will” against the Dalit community.

In the complaint filed on Wednesday, Dhananjay, also a PhD scholar in JNU’s School of Arts and Aesthetics, stated that the VC made the remarks during a podcast aired on February 16 on the YouTube channel of The Sunday Guardian. The episode discussed the University Grants Commission (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.

According to the complaint, the JNU VC said in the podcast that there is “permanent victimhood” and that people “cannot progress by being permanently a victim or playing the victim card”. She compared this to the experience of Black communities and said the same approach was being applied to Dalits. She added that portraying one group as a “permanent victim” and another as a “permanent oppressor” amounts to “manufacturing realities” and is “more like a drug” that offers temporary satisfaction but “doesn’t work”.

Elected in March 2024, Dhananjay was the first Dalit student to hold JNUSU president’s post since the 1990’s.

NCSC Complaint: VC’s remarks promote ‘ill-will’

Dhananjay has argued that these remarks “prima facie promote feelings of hatred and ill-will” against Dalits and other marginalised communities. He has cited Section 3(1)(u) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, stating that the statements fall within its ambit.

The complaint also refers to Sections 196 and 197 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, alleging that the remarks amount to offences under these provisions.

In the complaint, Dhananjay stated that such remarks by a public authority holding a constitutional office “create a serious detrimental impact” on members of the Dalit community and “undermine the principles and ethos of the Constitution.” He further alleged that after the podcast aired, “incidents of harassment” were reported against students from Dalit and other marginalised communities and that “the general atmosphere against the students and people belonging from the Dalit and marginalised communities has become hostile”.

The complaint states that courts have repeatedly emphasised that public authorities must exercise caution in their public statements. “It is obvious that the VC failed to adhere to such detectives of the Hon’ble Court”.

It alleges that as VC, she had a duty to ensure a safe environment on campus but failed to do so and points out that “till date, the VC has not issued any statement of apology. This bolsters the fact that the statement was a well thought statement”.

JNU VC’s remarks spark protest, scuffle

Following the podcast, the remarks triggered protests on the JNU campus. The JNUSU and several student organisations held demonstrations demanding a public apology and sought the VC’s resignation. That led to a violent scuffle with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation aligned with the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of which Pandit has said she is “proud”.

In his plea to the commission, Dhananjay sought an inquiry into the matter, action under relevant legal provisions, and disciplinary steps against the VC, including removal of the VC from her position.