Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has officially adopted the term ‘Kulguru’ as the Hindi designation for the Vice-Chancellor, replacing the long-standing term ‘Kulpati’. The change, driven by JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, aims to usher in gender neutrality while anchoring the university’s identity in India’s ancient educational traditions.
The proposal, which was initially raised during an Executive Council meeting earlier this year, received formal approval and will now be reflected in all academic and official documentation, including degree certificates.
Speaking to media, Pandit emphasised that ‘Kulguru’, drawn from the guru-shishya parampara of ancient Bharat, is not only gender-neutral but also philosophically more suited to the role of a Vice-Chancellor — envisioned not merely as an administrator but as a scholarly guide.
“Kulguru is the most appropriate for a VC. It is gender neutral. Sanskrit is more accurate, and this reflects my job better as a first among equals in academia,” said Pandit.
The term ‘Kulguru’ underscores a return to India’s indigenous academic values, aligning with a growing trend in Indian institutions to discard colonial and patriarchal nomenclature in favour of civilisationally rooted terminology.
Appointed in 2022 as JNU’s first woman Vice-Chancellor, Santishree Pandit has consistently pushed for gender-sensitive and culturally conscious reforms. Upon taking charge, she initiated a policy overhaul to replace gendered pronouns in official documentation — ensuring that ‘she’ appears wherever applicable, correcting decades of linguistic male bias.
Speaking during the Dr BR Ambedkar Lecture Series in 2022, Pandit announced her intent to replace ‘Kulpati’ with ‘Kulguru’ to make institutional language more inclusive. At the time, she had noted how even official university communications referred to her with male pronouns.
“When I came to university, everything that was ‘he’, I made that ‘she’. Now ‘she’ is used on all documents… Even when they referred to me they wrote ‘he’. The idea of ‘Kulpati’ — I want to call it ‘Kulguru’,” she said.
JNU’s move reflects a broader national trend. In February 2025, the Rajasthan government introduced the Rajasthan Universities’ Laws (Amendment) Bill, proposing to replace ‘Kulpati’ and ‘Pratikulpati’ (Pro-VC) with ‘Kulguru’ and ‘Pratikulguru’ in all state university laws written in Hindi. The bill passed in March, marking a formal legislative shift.
Similarly, in July 2024, the Madhya Pradesh Cabinet approved the adoption of the title ‘Kulguru’ for Vice-Chancellors, affirming the state’s commitment to both gender equity and Bharatiya cultural revival.
This change is far more than cosmetic. At its core lies a redefinition of how Indian academia sees leadership. The term ‘Kulpati’, though widely used, is linguistically gendered and structurally hierarchical. In contrast, ‘Kulguru’ implies mentorship, scholarship, and dharmic responsibility resonating with Bharat’s ancient gurukula ethos.
Critics may view the shift as symbolic, but proponents argue it represents a deep ideological alignment with India’s civilisational worldview, challenging the colonial and Anglicised legacies that dominate Indian higher education nomenclature.
By replacing ‘Kulpati’ with ‘Kulguru’, JNU under Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit is not just rewriting words it is redefining the values embedded in India’s academic institutions. The move signals a clear ideological direction: one that seeks to reclaim linguistic, cultural, and gender justice in India’s intellectual spaces.
