Dalit student accuses professor of casteist remarks, police file FIR
Vipin Vijayan, a Dalit PhD student at Kerala University, has accused his supervisor, Dr. CN Vijayakumari, of making casteist comments and refusing to sign off on his thesis.
Vijayan claims the professor told him people from lower castes couldn't learn Sanskrit and even said she'd clean her room after such students visited.
He says she withheld her signature on his thesis in October 2025 for these reasons.
Police have filed an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Professor denies allegations, says student struggled during defense
Dr. Vijayakumari denies any caste bias and says she held back approval due to academic issues and rule violations, not discrimination.
She also said Vijayan struggled during his open defense in October 2025.
Even though external examiners cleared the thesis, final certification is still pending because of her refusal.
The university is now formally investigating both sides while police continue their probe—spotlighting ongoing concerns about caste discrimination on Indian campuses.