Kavita Singh was removed as Dean in November after raising her voice against JNU’s mandatory attendance rule. She has since been denied leave twice.
New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) denied leave to art historian Prof. Kavita Singh to go and collect the Infosys Prize she has been awarded for 2018.
The ceremony took place in Bengaluru Saturday, and it was only after she landed in the city that she realised her leave had been rejected. She did collect the prize.
Singh was awarded this prize for her “extraordinary illuminating study of Mughal, Rajput and Deccan Art”.
Singh was one of the six people who were removed from their official administrative positions at the university in November 2018. She held the post of Dean Arts and Aesthetics at the university. The action came after some of the administrative heads, including Singh, had raised their voice against JNU’s mandatory attendance rule for students.
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Not the first time
Speaking to ThePrint, Singh said: “I had applied for the leave on 2 January and there was no response from the administration. It was only after I landed in Bangalore that I got to know that the leave has been rejected. I will see what happens now once I land in Delhi.”
The university administration had also denied leave to Singh in December last year, when she wished to attend an academic event at the India International Centre in the capital. “I was denied duty leave in December. Hence, this time, I applied for casual leave, but this too was rejected.”
Singh added that there was no word of appreciation or recognition from the Vice-Chancellor or the administration when she won the award. It has not even been mentioned on the official website of the university. “With the way things are going in the university, one doesn’t know what to say,” she said.
The Rector and Vice-Chancellor of JNU did not respond to calls and messages from ThePrint seeking their comment. The report will be updated when they respond.
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Sickening. One wonders whether the Vice Chancellor, all through his working life, has ever earned recognition or an honour equal to the Infosys prize. Some sort of General Patton – one cannot recall his name – who wants an Abrams M 60 tank placed on campus, to invoke a sense of national pride.