Controversy Over PhD Recommendation For Student Leader In Kerala University: Report

A simmering controversy has gripped Kerala University after its evaluation board recommended awarding a PhD in Sanskrit to a student leader affiliated with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), after an official claimed that the candidate lacks even basic command of the Sanskrit language. Reportedly, the same official had recommended the MPhil degree in Sanskrit for the student who has BA, MA, BEd and MEd in the same subject.

The debate centres on Vipin Vijayan, a former SFI office-bearer at the university’s Kariavattom campus, whose dissertation on Chattampi Swamikal – prepared and defended in English – was endorsed by the evaluation board for a doctorate in Sanskrit. The dean of the Oriental Languages faculty, Dr C. N. Vijayakumari, has taken the unusual step of formally requesting Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummal to block the conferral of the degree, asserting that the candidate was unable to answer basic questions in Sanskrit, English, or even Malayalam during the open defence session held this month. This unusual request from the Dean coming after the evaluation board’s recommendation has raised eyebrows and some has put forward the political allegiance of Dr Vijayakumari to question the move. The Dean is, allegedly, associated with right wing organisations in the campus as the research scholar is a left activist.

The issue has sparked demands for a thorough review, with the Save University Campaign Committee submitting a memorandum calling for a halt to the process unless the shortcomings pointed out by the dean are examined in detail.

For his part, Vipin Vijayan maintains the protests stem from personal animosity and insists he followed due process.