JNU vice-chancellor proposes building a Venkateswara temple to fund the university

At a recent Indian Knowledge Tradition conference hosted by Banaras Hindu University, JNU vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit called for the establishment of a Lord Venkateswara temple on the JNU campus to generate revenue, referencing the successful Vishwanath temple model at BHU. She described JNU as financially strained and suggested that a temple could attract significant funds, drawing on her Andhra background.

Pandit also accused JNU historians of reversing the relationship between facts and interpretation, and she defended Indian Knowledge Systems as a pluralist alternative to perceived ideological dominance. She rejected the label of a “right-wing project,” positioning IKS as opposed to any monopoly of thought, including “wokeism.” Additionally, she highlighted India’s maritime history, the role of Sanskrit and other classical languages, and argued that feminism in India predates Western theorists, citing Draupadi as an early example.