Manipal’s Rashmi Samant first Indian woman to become president of Oxford Student Union
London, Feb 13: Rashmi Samant has made history after she became the first Indian woman to be elected president of the Oxford University Student Union (SU), on a manifesto promising syllabus decolonisation and decarbonising the world-famous institution.
Samant, a graduate student reading for an MSc in energy systems, with a focus on sustainability, at Linacre College at the university, scored a landslide win in the election earlier this week when she received 1,966 of the 3,708 votes cast for the post amid a large turnout.
The Manipal Institute of Technology, Karnataka, student's Indian roots were referenced in her manifesto as she highlighted the need for greater decolonisation and inclusivity on campus in the Oxford SU leadership election on Thursday.
Together, we can reform long-standing shortcomings at the university, provide students with the resources and support they need to thrive in Oxford and become leading changemakers in our society, noted her manifesto.
Being a BAME [black, Asian and minority ethnic] woman from a former British colony, Rashmi is empathetic towards the struggles faced by marginalised groups, reads her vision statement.
Among her plans, Samant has promised to lobby the University and Conference of Colleges to remove all statues proven to be imperialist and conduct a comprehensive consultation on the decolonisation of syllabi to ensure Oxford course texts "celebrate and educate" Oxford students about the achievements of diverse scholarly voices.
With reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on students, she has pledged to lobby for safety net and mitigating circumstances for her fellow students.
And, related to her own field of study, her manifesto pledge notes: Lobby the Conference of Colleges to divest entire financial portfolio from fossil fuels as soon as possible [and] push all colleges to sign on to a university-wide sustainability strategy."
The president-elect for the 2021-22 term is also joined by other Indians on her team, including Devika as Vice-President Graduates-Elect, and Dhitee Goel as Student Trustees-elect.
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T'gana BC panel seeks reports over infant's death, family alleges caste abuse
Hyderabad (PTI): The Telangana Commission for Backward Classes on Monday sought reports from state government officials on the death of an infant following alleged assault and caste abuse against her family members in Nagarkurnool district while visiting a temple fair.
In separate letters, Commission Chairman G Niranjan urged Endowments Department Commissioner S Harish and Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santhosh to furnish the reports within three days.
Niranjan drew the officials' attention to media reports on the death of the two-month-old baby at Kummera village in the district and alleged caste discrimination and denial of entry to the temple fair to the baby's family belonging to a BC community.
BJP OBC Morcha's state unit president G Anand Goud alleged inadequate response by the police in the incident and demanded a transparent investigation into the incident.
Alleging that the deceased baby's father was attacked in the incident, he also demanded action against the attackers.
Goud told reporters that BJP's state unit president N Ramachander Rao would visit the village on February 24 and meet the baby's family members.
Meanwhile, a BRS delegation met DGP B Shivadhar Reddy and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The BRS leaders sought action against a person who allegedly attacked the infant's parents.
BC associations have held protests over the past few days regarding the alleged caste discrimination against the deceased infant's family members.
Police said on Sunday that four persons were arrested in connection with the cases registered after the family alleged that the baby died following an "assault" by a group of villagers. The family also alleged that they were abused in the name of caste in the incident on February 18.
However, a villager, part of the group, lodged a counter-complaint with the police the same day, alleging that he was attacked with stones during a scuffle with the family, sustaining a head injury, following which a case was registered.
The infant died on February 21 and her mother, who belongs to an SC community, also lodged a complaint alleging her daughter died due to the physical assault on the family by some villagers, police said.
