TN National Law Univ students protest against dress code remark by VC

Students of Tamil Nadu National Law University protested against Vice Chancellor V Nagaraj over remarks linking women’s dress to harassment, demanding apology as controversy grew, while he clarified comments were misinterpreted and intended as general advice

Tiruchirappalli: Students of the Tamil Nadu National Law University here took strong exception to the “advice” given by the Vice Chancellor V Nagaraj on dress code for women students, and they protested overnight, demanding an apology from him.

A source at the TNNLU termed the VC’s remark as “fatherly advice and made in the interest of the institution’s reputation.” While addressing the class representatives on April 15, Nagaraj purportedly remarked that girls wearing shorts invited “sexual harassment and created a distraction for other students and faculty.”

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The remark sparked a row, and the students resorted to a protest on the campus on Thursday night against the VC. The protesters held placards that read “blame the mindset, not clothes.” Aiming to defuse the tension, a senior official described it as “fatherly advice.” Later, Nagaraj addressed the students and said his statement was taken out of context.

“I was speaking about admissions, the reputation of our university and asked the students to promote it. I made the statement in this context… in my personal opinion, if you want to improve the institution’s reputation, then presentable dress may be one factor,” he said, declining to answer any questions about the remark that triggered controversy.