'Caste of Gods', JNU VC issues a clarification after her remarks

New Delhi, Aug 24: A day after her remarks during a lecture in which she had said that anthropologically Gods do not belong to the upper caste, JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said it is to the credit of Hinduism that great dissenters from Gautam Buddha to BR Ambedkar are celebrated.

 

 

 

Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, who delivered the Dr. B R Ambedkar Lecture Series titled 'Dr. B R Ambedkar's Thoughts on Gender Justice: Decoding the Uniform Civil Code' said she was speaking on Ambedkar and gender justice, decoding uniform civil code, and had to analyze what was his thought.

 

 

 

"I was speaking on Dr. BR Ambedkar and gender justice, decoding uniform civil code so I had to analyze what was his thought so I was paraphrasing what he said in his books these are not my ideas," she said. "I also said that Hinduism is the only religion and a way of life. Sanatan Dharma accepts dissent, diversity, and difference. No other faith does it and it is to the credit of Hinduism that such great dissenters from Gautam Buddha to Ambedkar are celebrated," she added. Referring to her remarks that all women, according to the ManuSmriti, "are Shudras", she said that she was analyzing the work of Ambedkar. "He wrote a lot on ManuSmriti and it is he who said all this. I was only analyzing his viewpoint and he being the father of the Indian constitution and the chairman of the drafting committee- it is extremely important to understand his philosophy. When I was talking about gender justice it was very important for me to even analyze this point of view," she said.

 

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"....so there is a controversy but this is what Dr. Ambedkar has said so we have to look at it critically because he is one of the great dissenters. It is extremely important for modern India especially when we are going to the Amrit Kal and looking into some of our great nationalists who have written a lot. These were not my thoughts. I am not as great and original as Dr. Ambedkar. As a good academician, I was just analyzing his views on gender and justice," she added.