JNU Linguistic Discrimination: A non-Hindi-speaking girl student hailing from South India who is studying at the Centre for Japanese Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), claims that she has faced serious cases of "linguistic discrimination" and public humiliation at the hands of an assistant professor. Backed up by the Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU), the formal complaint submitted by the student reveals how she has been subjected to verbal threats and academic harassment inside the classroom.
The student has alleged that the faculty member used to force her to recite sentences in the presence of all her fellow students, such as "I will try my best to study Hindi," and to translate complicated sentences in Hindi and Sanskrit, even though she lacked proficiency in the languages. She was constantly being ridiculed about her accent by the professor, who also asked the other students to laugh at her, which caused her to feel severely anxious and nauseated before attending classes. The matter worsened on September 1, 2026, when she came back to class after recovering from an illness that had kept her away from class for the last two weeks.
Core Allegations By The JNU Students
-
Forced Recitation and Accent Taunting: It is claimed that the faculty member asked the student to recite sentences in class like "I will try my best to study Hindi". Additionally, he taunted her accent, asked other students to laugh at her and asked her to translate complicated Hindi and Sanskrit sentences even though he knew that she was not proficient in the language.
Severe Interrogation Upon Return to Class: On September 1, upon her return to class after two weeks of illness, she was subjected to intense interrogation concerning her attendance. On her explanation regarding her health condition, she was accused of "showing attitude" and disrupting the class and left crying after challenging the professor.
Physical and Psychological Trauma: It is mentioned that the student suffered from physical and psychological trauma such as panic attacks, nausea and anxiety before attending classes.
Exam Delays: In addition to this, the complaint claims that the professor used to make arbitrary exam delays, sometimes for up to four hours.
Insensitive Remarks: Furthermore, it is claimed that the professor made insensitive remarks about national events and asked the students about their socio-economic status and castes by requesting their full names and surnames.
Student Demands & Administrative Response
-
Institutional Investigation: The PDSU and aggrieved students have called for an urgent investigation of the behaviour of the assistant professor by the university administration.
-
Grievance Procedure: Student groups have been pressing for a safe and transparent process to report academic and linguistic harassment.
Also Read:
NIRF Ranking 2026 Soon: Know When to Expect and What’s New
