KU Syndicate backs VC in D.Litt row
The Hindu
Bemoans attempts to malign VC; Governor denies having targeted personally
A special meeting of the Syndicate of Kerala University on Wednesday backed Vice Chancellor V.P. Mahadevan Pillai in the controversy over the proposal to confer the D.Litt on President Ram Nath Kovind.
The Syndicate, which endorsed Prof. Pillai’s stance that the proposal had been discussed among its members, albeit informally, cited protocol and legal hurdles as reasons behind the move to turn it down.
Convened to discuss the circumstances that led to the controversy, the meeting also witnessed a section of Syndicate members faulting Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s handling of the issue and expressing concern at the “leak” of a confidential letter that the Vice Chancellor had delivered personally.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.