Vice-chancellor V Nagaraj of Tiruchirappalli’s Tamil Nadu National Law University (TNNLU) has sparked controversy for claiming that female students who wear shorts encourage “sexual harassment and create a distraction for other students and faculty members.” This has led to protests on campus calling for an apology. The remarks transpired during a meeting with 12 class representatives on 15th April, according to a statement released by the student body.
“Yesterday’s statement was taken out of context. I was speaking about admissions, the reputation of our university and asking students to promote it. In that context, I made a statement about dress code. No VC in the country has the courage to speak about dress code. In my personal opinion, if you want to improve the institution’s reputation, presentable dress may be one factor. I am not here to answer questions; I am here to say what I want to say. I am only answerable to my higher authorities,” he stated after the row erupted.
According to TNNLU Registrar Professor (Dr) SM Balakrishnan, Nagaraj was recounting the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) incident in which he had mentioned female students wearing shorts, reported Bar and Bench. He asserted that the pupils misinterpreted him and took his statements out of context. He mentioned that there was no prior authorisation for the agitation, reported The New Indian Express.
Similar statements were made by Nagaraj in 2016 while he was a faculty member at NLSIU, Bengaluru. “You can come to class without a dress also. That is how your character is,” he told a student, reported India Today. “We all know why parents marry their children off – so that they can have sex. Just because the parents marry off their children for this reason, it does not mean that the children have sex in front of their parents,” he expressed on another occasion.
