JNU prof faces backlash for 'casteist comment'

New Delhi: Another controversy has erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University, as the varsity's Students' Union on Friday alleged that the Dean of School of Social Sciences (SSS) Prof Pradipta Chowdhary made "casteist comments" during an orientation session of assistant professors from different parts of the country at the Academic Staff College.

JNUSU, in a statement, expressed "utmost shock and condemned the incident from the Academic Staff College, JNU that has come to light."

"His lecture was on Caste, Class and Public Policy in India. In the course of his lecture, he a made a comment on caste, that was contested by one of the participants, who requested for an answer. The SSS Dean, out of anger, shouted at the person and told him 'Badtameez, be quite or leave the room'. The Dean went on and tried physically (clear in the video) to push the person out of the class," the JNUSU statement read.

The Union also claimed that in the same session Prof Chowdhary had ridiculed the English of a Assistant Professor who had asked a question.

The participants opposed Chowdhary and demanded an apology from him, which he refused. However, the director of SSS and course coordinator offered an apology to the participants.