Caste abuse, protest and blockade by students; President nominates Prof CN Vijayakumari to apex body of University amid controversies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The President has nominated Prof CN Vijayakumari to the Court, the apex body of the Pondicherry Central University. This is for a period of three years. This is the first time that the President has nominated a teaching staff from the University of Kerala.

The news of the nomination of Prof. CN Vijayakumari, head of the department and Dean of Oriental Studies, comes amid the Sanskrit PhD controversy at the University of Kerala. The police had registered a case against Vijayakumari on a complaint of caste abuse against a research student. The High Court has stayed Vijayakumari's arrest. Vijayakumari's new post comes while she is seeking anticipatory bail. She can continue as Dean at the University of Kerala as well.

Students had blocked Vijayakumari today in front of her office at Karyavattom campus for an hour following the complaint that she had made a caste-based insult targeting research student Vipin Vijayan. The controversy arose when the Dean wrote a letter to the VC demanding that the open defence be held again. The letter is under consideration by the Syndicate. The VC had recently decided to award degrees to 64 researchers, excluding Vipin.