Students of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law in Patiala, Punjab are continuing their protest outside the residence of the varsity’s Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Jai Shankar Singh, demanding his resignation for allegedly entering the girls’ hostel rooms without the consent of the residents and questioning the choice of their clothing.
These protests were sparked when Singh made a surprise visit to the girls’ hostel on the campus in the afternoon of yesterday, September 22.
According to the students, the VC, who visited without informing the residents of the hostel, also entered their rooms for a “routine inspection”. In a statement released last night, the students allege that he also made inappropriate comments on the girls’ clothes, asking them, “Aap ne shorts kyun pehi hain?” (Why are you wearing shorts?).
This is despite the university rules preventing even parents of the students residing in the girls’ hostel from entering their rooms to ensure the “privacy and dignity of the girls,” the students say, and add that the VC went into the rooms despite resistance.
Terming this a violation of their “right to privacy and personal space”, the students launched a protest on the campus yesterday, demanding the resignation of the VC and a full investigation into his actions.
The VC, when questioned about these allegations by Hindustan Times, said that he was at the girls’ hostel building to inspect the overcrowding issue among first-year students, and was accompanied by a female staff member.
However, the students, in a representation demanding the resignation of the VC refuted this claim, alleging that no female guard or warden was informed until much after he arrived at the hostel.
Residents of the girls’ hostel, who were unaware of the VC’s visit to their rooms until then, were caught unawares and left uncomfortable by the situation, the representation says. “One of the students had just showered when the VC entered the room, and she could only wear a bathrobe as she was not given the time to dress more appropriately,” a student told EdexLive, on the condition of anonymity.
More questionably, the VC also “deviated from the purported purpose of his visit” by going to the rooms of third-year students, as opposed to those from the first year, the students allege in the statement. Here, he “made inappropriate and insensitive remarks to female students, ranging from comments on their clothing, to their personal activities, and academic endeavours,” the students wrote.
When the students submitted the representation to the VC, he allegedly did not deny the incidents – but also did not apologise.
According to the student, he instead started talking about all the work he has done as the Vice Chancellor.
“He only talked about how many hostel facilities were introduced after he assumed the role of VC, and how the student intake has increased. He didn’t acknowledge our representation – or even the fact that his actions were highly inappropriate,” they said.
He even remarked that the students, through the protest, made a dent in the reputation of the university, the students alleged.
Not an isolated incident
Following this incident, many students started sharing other incidents where the VC acted out of line and made similar disparaging remarks against students, particularly female students.
“We are not protesting against this incident alone. This is a reaction of pent-up outrage to a series of acts and statements made by the VC,” the student said.
In the representation, the students point to various examples of the VC’s alleged comments, which seem to chide various students in condescending, mocking ways.
The VC allegedly berated one of the students, telling them, “Tum jaise nalayak bachhe apne maa-baap ke aarthik stithi jaanke bhi itna high level course mein admission lene ajaate ho” (good for nothing children like you come here to get admission into a high-level course despite being aware of the financial situation of your parents). He even asked them why didn’t join a “3-year BA course” instead.
He even allegedly shamed female students for their choices in clothes, asking them, “Tumaare maa baap tumhe paise dete hain aise kapde pehen ne ke liye?” (Do your parents give you money to wear such clothes.
He also made similar statements on the academic choices of female students, discouraging them from taking up complicated subjects and research topics – simply because “they were girls”.
For instance, he allegedly rejected the research topic of a PhD scholar at the university, who wanted to work on criminal jurisprudence, telling her to instead work on an “easier” subject like domestic violence or marriage law.
The representation also alleges that the VC would often make similar “surprise inspections” of classes and “disrupt the flow of learning” by “disparaging comments on the teaching methodologies adopted by the teachers.” Acknowledging that the VC is allowed to conduct routine checks in classrooms, the students call how he does it “disruptive”, and infringing on academic freedom.
Further, the VC also allegedly demeaned the students’ career choices and discouraged them from applying to internships, preparing for competitions, working in centres affiliated with the university, or pursuing any co-curricular activity, say the students. They claim that he even berated students for “their manner of taking notes.”
As a result, the students are demanding the following:
Resignation of the VC Prof Jai Shankar Singh
An unconditional, written apology from the VC, taking accountability for all his actions
Constitution of the RGNUL Student Bar Association with immediate effect
Constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee to take immediate, appropriate action on the incidents
