In a media release, the SC/ST officers’ forum of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) has said its members will lay down administrative positions to protest the comments by Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani at a press meet on Wednesday. The officers said that contrary to the Minister’s assertion that the council that upheld the suspension of the Dalit students from the UoH was headed by a Dalit, there were no Dalit faculty members on the sub-committee of the executive council.
“Incidentally, the Dean, students’ welfare, who happens to be a Dalit was notionally co-opted as an ex-officio member of the committee,” they said.
The chairman of the sub-committee happened to be Vipin Srivastava who was also the senior-most professor on the campus. The release said: “It is also unfortunate that the Minister is misleading the nation by observing that hostel wardens have suo motu powers to expel the students.” The faculty and staff said: “It is just a coincidence that the chief warden happens to be a Dalit and he only implemented the orders of the higher authorities.”
