'Optics over action': JNU students' union hits out over ‘kulguru' move

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Jawaharlal Nehru University's decision to replace the term 'Kulpati' with 'Kulguru' for the designation of Vice Chancellor in all official academic records, including degree certificates, drew sharp criticism from the JNU Students' Union.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the JNUSU accused the administration of engaging in 'optics over action' and demanded urgent reforms instead of mere gestures on issues of gender justice.
'We understand your urgency to change the designation as a move toward gender neutrality. But symbolic gestures alone cannot ensure gender justice; fundamental transformation requires institutional reforms,' the statement said.
The student body also accused the vice-chancellor of following a 'political and ideological trend' of renaming rather than reforming, likening the change to what it described as the Modi government's pattern of "functioning as a name changer while claiming to be a game changer".
The statement also criticised the administration's 'unwillingness' to engage in dialogue, citing unanswered requests for a meeting on the JNU entrance examination.
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'We believe in dialogue -- something you have not practised,' the student body alleged, noting that reforms cannot be implemented through unilateral decisions masked as inclusivity.
The change in the name was approved in a recent meeting of the university's Executive Council held in April, and action has been initiated by the Controller of Examinations to implement the shift.
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University officials described 'Kulguru' as a gender-neutral and culturally meaningful term that aligns with evolving academic and social norms.
The university's move is in line with similar changes already implemented by the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments.
The JNUSU also listed four key demands in the statement, including immediate reinstatement of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), which it claimed was more democratic and survivor-friendly than the existing Internal Complaints Committee (ICC); restoration of deprivation points in PhD admissions, which helped level the field for marginalised and women students; construction of gender-neutral washrooms and hostels; and the implementation of reservations for transgender students in line with the Supreme Court's NALSA judgment.
(with PTI inputs)