Overview
- Students at JNU’s Tapti Hostel protested, alleging a portrait of B R Ambedkar was removed from the mess without notice.
- Warden Vinika Joshi said the photo was not removed and was moved to the hostel committee room as a more respectful place than a dining hall with soiled utensils.
- The portrait had been installed in the mess during Ambedkar Jayanti earlier this month, which made its location a matter of dignity for many students.
- The JNU Students’ Union supported the protest and called the episode part of a pattern of caste insensitivity, with students from several left-leaning groups joining.
- The university had not issued a response, and the dispute follows anger over Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit’s podcast remarks that student groups called casteist.