From Podcast To Protest: Why JNU Is Erupting Over Vice Chancellor's Comments

Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, or JNU, is seething with rage. Barely a week after a "night of terror", the students were involved in a bitter, some would say 'biting', clash with the Delhi cops.

Student protesters were accused of throwing sticks and resorting to physical assault, with officers even complaining of being "bitten" and "slapped." These details were formalised in an FIR against the students.

The trigger was a "Long March" - part of the ongoing protests over JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit's recent remarks on a podcast over the implementation of University Grants Commission (UGC) norms, rustication of JNUSU office bearers, and the proposed Rohith Act  - from the university campus to the Ministry of Education office, police said in a statement.

The JNU administration had informed the protesting students that no permission had been granted for any protest outside the campus and advised them to restrict their demonstration within university premises, police said.

Despite the university's 'Big No', around 400-500 students gathered on campus and began a protest march, police said. Around 3.20 pm, the protesters moved out through the main gate and attempted to march towards the ministry.

From this point on, things went downhill.

Police personnel stopped the protesters at the North Gate of the JNU campus and gradually pushed them back inside the university premises.

"As soon as the students reached the main gate of the campus, the police and other paramilitary forces locked the gate with chains and multiple layers of barricades. When the students, through collective effort, forced the police to open the main gate, they detained more than 50 students and sent them to several undisclosed locations. Multiple students have faced varying degrees of injuries. The police have denied medical assistance to the injured students," the students' body claimed.

Security personnel detain members of the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) during a protest rally

The protesters alleged that excessive force was used against them due to which many students were injured. Some of the protesters were taken to "unconfirmed locations" by the police, claimed the university's teachers' body.

"We have detained some of the protesters. Some protestors are levelling allegations that police manhandled them which are completely baseless. Every single officer deputed there was maintaining law and order," a police officer said.

The Students' Union also alleged that a portrait of BR Ambedkar was damaged during the police action. Purported videos of the clash surfaced online, including one showing an Ambedkar photo snatched from the protesters. NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the videos.

Members of the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) stage a protest rally

In a counter claim, Delhi police said around 25 policemen, including Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ved Prakash, ACP Sanghamitra, Station House Officer (SHO) Atul Tyagi and SHO Ajai Yadav, were injured.

JNUSU president Aditi Mishra, former president Nitish Kumar were among the 51 protesters detained after the students clashed with the police at the college gate when they tried to take the rally out of the campus.

In a statement, the JNU teachers' body condemned what it said was "brutal use of force" by police. It alleged that several students, including women, were injured and expressed concern over the well-being of those detained, claiming some were taken to "unconfirmed locations".

Videos from the protest side showed what went down. 

In one video, a student is seen climbing the JNU wall and inciting students, and talking about teaching the police a lesson.

In another video, a student is seen slapping a police officer.

A student seen slapping a police officer

In a third video, students are seen abusing security personnel deployed outside the JNU campus and throwing batons at cops dressed in riot gear.

A student seen using a stick to hit a policeman

JNUTA also alleged that the police action was aimed at preventing students from exercising their democratic right to march and demanded the immediate release of all detained students.

The university in an official statement said, "JNUSU protesters are demanding UGC regulations to be implemented. This is in violation of the Honorable Supreme Court which issued a stay on the regulations. JNU Vice Chancellor or Registrar have no powers over the regulations." 

It added that as per the university administration, JNUSU has "refused to address the core issue of students who were rusticated for "vandalism and violence" unleashed inside the campus.

"The students involved were held responsible and rusticated, following a proctorial inquiry," read the statement.

The university defended the VC Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit's and called allegations against her "false".  

"JNU is a public university hence accountable to the government, the Parliament and the Indian taxpayers. It is deplorable that a woman OBC Vice Chancellor is instead attacked on false allegations, only to divert from the issue of violence and vandalism of public property," the university said in its statement.

In another development, a former president of the JNUSU Dhananjay has filed a complaint with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) against the Vice Chancellor over allegedly hateful remarks made on a public platform.

The complaint alleges that the Vice Chancellor's statements promoted feelings of enmity, hatred, and ill will against the Dalit community.

On Sunday, the Vice Chancellor defended her recent remarks regarding Dalits and Blacks, saying her comments were taken out of context and misrepresented for "political purposes" by certain groups.

Her clarification comes amid protests by student organisations, including the JNUSU, which have demanded her resignation over the remarks made in a podcast published on February 16.

In a written statement by the Vice Chancellor, "a large number of faculty" members also extended their "unwavering support" to her, accusing the JNU Students' Union and the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) of eroding deliberative discourse on campus through selective framing.

The controversy stems from Pandit's remarks in the podcast while discussing the UGC's proposed 2026 Equity (Anti-Discrimination) Regulations aimed at addressing caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutions. In a clip circulating online, she was heard saying that Dalits and Blacks "cannot progress by being permanently a victim or playing the victim card," triggering sharp reactions from student groups.

Earlier, violence broke out at the JNU late Monday night when a protest rally turned violent with students on either side of the ideological divide accusing each other of being the aggressor.

On February 22, the students took out an 'Equality March', demanding the resignation of the Vice Chancellor for her alleged "casteist" remarks.

Additionally, they had sought the revocation of a rustication order against four student body office-bearers over alleged vandalism of university property during a protest.