“Godse supporter”: JNU’s first woman VC Dhulipuli Pandit deletes her Twitter account after outrage

Hours after her appointment created outrage in the world of academia and on social media, prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University’s first woman Vice Chancellor Shantishree Dhulipuli Pandit deleted her account on Twitter.

She said her focus will be on creating Indo-centric narratives in the university.

Known for her right wing slant, Pandit thanked Prime Minister Modi and the Ministry of Education for her appointment as the VC of the JNU.

An alumna of the JNU, Pandit had completed her PhD on ‘Parliament and foreign policy in India – The Nehru years.’

Bearing her signature, a letter released on Monday evening says, “The immediate focus of this administration would be to provide clean administration, student friendly and gender sensitive environment for academic excellence.”

“We would strive to implement NEP 2020, the vision of our honourable PM…The focus would be in constructing Indo-centric narratives,” reads the letter.

Pandit succeeds M. Jagadesh Kumar, who was appointed as chairman of the University Grants Commission last week.

As soon as Pandit’s appointment was made public, microblogging site, Twitter got flooded with her past tweets, showing her strong right-wing inclination.

Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav took a swipe at Pandit, sharing her objectionable posts. “Besides her impeccable scholarly credentials, the new VC of JNU also brings an enviable record of financial probity. Here is a glimpse.”

Amritkaalvin Klein said she is a whole package, taking a jibe at her.

A “supporter of Godse” Pandit has reportedly called the Prophet a myth.

Pertinently, after this outrage Pandit deleted her Twitter account.

After completing her PhD from JNU, Pandit started her teaching career at Goa University in 1988 and moved to Pune University in 1993.

She has held administrative positions at various academic bodies. She has also been a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), and the Visitor’s nominee to central universities.