PUNE: The vice-chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), Nitin Karmalkar, on Saturday suspended the Shelar Mama gold medal award till the criteria of the awardee being a vegetarian and teetotaller were cancelled by the sponsoring entity.
Karmalkar said all the 40 scholarships/awards sponsored by private bodies or individuals for the university students would also be reviewed to ensure that no discriminatory provisions were included in their eligibility criteria.
The university drew flak and public criticism for endorsing the criteria put forth by the Shelar family way back in 2006. The eligibility criteria have remained in the book since then.
Addressing a news conference at the main building of the university, Karmalkar said, "The award was instituted in the honour of yoga guru Ramchandra Gopal Shelar, who was a kirtan exponent — a disciple of Saint Gadge Maharaj and believed in vegetarianism. That can be the reason why the family laid down the condition... It was given regularly until last year. But now, we are suspending it with immediate effect."
Karmalkar said the varsity strongly believed in and abided by all the provisions enshrined in the Indian Constitution and that the university did not discriminate among students.
"Now that it has been brought to my notice that such a condition is leading to discrimination and unrest on the campus and society, I have suspended the award. Not only this (Shelar Mama) award but all the 40 scholarships given by various private parties to varsity students will be reviewed thoroughly for any discriminatory eligibility criteria. We cannot allow anything that goes against the ethos of the Constitution," the vice-chancellor said.
He claimed that his office was trying to contact the members of the Shelar family so that the conditions could be removed. "If the family removes the discriminatory criteria, then we will allow the award. Otherwise, we will suspend it permanently," Karmaklkar added.
According to the vice-chancellor, the management council in 2005 had allowed the award. He defended the role of the present management claiming that the latter, in its pursuit to maintain transparency and accountability in the working of the university, was uploading everything on the web, thereby, bringing the issues to public notice.
"It is a good thing that we put everything online. This gave us a chance to rectify our mistake. We are a progressive university and do not believe in any superstition. A committee will be set up to review all the awards that are instituted in the future," Karmalkar added.
The circular uploaded by the university on October 31 had listed that candidates aspiring for the Yoga Guru Ramchandra Shelar gold medal award should be vegetarian and teetotaller. These were among the many criteria put forth by the entity to apply for the Shelar Mama award.
Some students' organizations protested against the award by eating chicken biryani at the main building of the university on Saturday afternoon.
Karmalkar said all the 40 scholarships/awards sponsored by private bodies or individuals for the university students would also be reviewed to ensure that no discriminatory provisions were included in their eligibility criteria.
The university drew flak and public criticism for endorsing the criteria put forth by the Shelar family way back in 2006. The eligibility criteria have remained in the book since then.
Addressing a news conference at the main building of the university, Karmalkar said, "The award was instituted in the honour of yoga guru Ramchandra Gopal Shelar, who was a kirtan exponent — a disciple of Saint Gadge Maharaj and believed in vegetarianism. That can be the reason why the family laid down the condition... It was given regularly until last year. But now, we are suspending it with immediate effect."
Karmalkar said the varsity strongly believed in and abided by all the provisions enshrined in the Indian Constitution and that the university did not discriminate among students.
"Now that it has been brought to my notice that such a condition is leading to discrimination and unrest on the campus and society, I have suspended the award. Not only this (Shelar Mama) award but all the 40 scholarships given by various private parties to varsity students will be reviewed thoroughly for any discriminatory eligibility criteria. We cannot allow anything that goes against the ethos of the Constitution," the vice-chancellor said.
He claimed that his office was trying to contact the members of the Shelar family so that the conditions could be removed. "If the family removes the discriminatory criteria, then we will allow the award. Otherwise, we will suspend it permanently," Karmaklkar added.
According to the vice-chancellor, the management council in 2005 had allowed the award. He defended the role of the present management claiming that the latter, in its pursuit to maintain transparency and accountability in the working of the university, was uploading everything on the web, thereby, bringing the issues to public notice.
"It is a good thing that we put everything online. This gave us a chance to rectify our mistake. We are a progressive university and do not believe in any superstition. A committee will be set up to review all the awards that are instituted in the future," Karmalkar added.
The circular uploaded by the university on October 31 had listed that candidates aspiring for the Yoga Guru Ramchandra Shelar gold medal award should be vegetarian and teetotaller. These were among the many criteria put forth by the entity to apply for the Shelar Mama award.
Some students' organizations protested against the award by eating chicken biryani at the main building of the university on Saturday afternoon.
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