Vice Chancellors of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) will be henceforth referred to as “Kulgurus”, drawing “inspiration” from a similar decision of the Madhya Pradesh government last year, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said on Wednesday.
Addressing ministers ahead of the state cabinet meeting, Yadav stated that JNU has adopted the “navachar” (innovation) introduced by the state government. “Like Madhya Pradesh, the Vice Chancellor of JNU will now be known as ‘Kulguru’,” he said.
However, the chief minister did not clarify whether JNU has formally implemented this change or if an official administrative order has been issued.
Yadav noted that the decision draws inspiration from a decision taken by the Madhya Pradesh government last year, which renamed the university post of Vice Chancellor (Kulpati) to “Kulguru.”
He had stated that the change aligns with Indian sanskriti (culture) and Guru Parampara (spiritual tradition), and that the term “Kulpati” could be problematic for women officeholders due to its awkward connotation.