Vipin alleged that Dr. Vijayakumari had told him that “Pulayans should not study Sanskrit” and that “the glory of the Sanskrit department has been destroyed with the arrival of Pulayan and Parayan students.”
Published Nov 07, 2025 | 9:52 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 07, 2025 | 9:52 PM
University of Kerala.
Synopsis: Research scholar Vipin Vijayan alleged that Dr Vijayakumari has been discriminating against him based on his caste, and preventing his pursuit of a Ph.D., an incident which the Minister for Higher Education R Bindu termed “deeply unfortunate”. The police have launched a preliminary probe based on his complaint.
A research scholar at the University of Kerala has lodged a police complaint, accusing the Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Dr CN Vijayakumari, of discriminating against him based on caste.
In his complaint lodged with the Kazhakkootam Police, Vipin Vijayan — a researcher at the university’s Kariavattom campus — accused Dr. Vijayakumari, who also serves as the Dean of the Faculty, of repeatedly humiliating him based on caste and obstructing his academic progress.
Vipin alleged that Dr. Vijayakumari had told him that “Pulayans should not study Sanskrit” and that “the glory of the Sanskrit department has been destroyed with the arrival of Pulayan and Parayan students.”
Pulaya and Paraya are two scheduled castes.
He further stated that the professor abused him by saying, “No matter how hard you try, Sanskrit will not yield to low castes like you.”
Vipin also claimed that Dr. Vijayakumari was illegally attempting to block the awarding of his research degree, despite favorable recommendations from subject experts appointed by the Vice Chancellor.
The complaint cited a letter allegedly written by the professor to another student, stating that a person who did not know Sanskrit should not be awarded a PhD in the subject.
The scholar urged that a case be registered against Dr. Vijayakumari under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Meanwhile, Kerala Higher Education Minister R Bindu termed the incident “deeply unfortunate” and assured that a detailed investigation would be conducted.
“This is something that should never happen on the part of teachers. Those in high positions at universities have an obligation to maintain maturity, decency, and dignity. Prejudicial behavior should not have occurred,” the minister said.
The issue came to light after Vipin shared a Facebook post detailing his experience two days ago.
The post quickly gained attention, prompting the government to take notice.
Vipin, who had earlier completed his MPhil under Dr. Vijayakumari’s guidance, alleged that caste-based humiliation has been ongoing since his postgraduate research days.
Vipin alleged that the professor even told him, “You have lost your PhD and are not even entitled to utter a word in Sanskrit. You have polluted the language of the gods.”
University officials are yet to comment formally on the allegations.
The police, it’s learnt, have begun a preliminary inquiry based on Vipin’s complaint.
