New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has taken an important decision and decided to change the name of its Vice Chancellor post. From now on, the Vice Chancellor in JNU will be called 'Kulguru'. This change has been made with the aim of adopting a gender neutral term and reflecting the Sanskrit tradition.
The current Vice Chancellor of JNU, Professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, formally announced this change. He said, "Kulguru is a more appropriate term, which is gender neutral and more accurate in Sanskrit. It better reflects my position, where I am first among equals in academia."
This decision follows a similar initiative in Rajasthan, where the state government introduced the Rajasthan University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in February 2025. Through this bill, it was proposed to replace 'Vice Chancellor' and 'Prati Chancellor' with 'Kulguru' and 'Pratikulguru' respectively in all state university laws written in Hindi.
The Madhya Pradesh government also said in a statement in July 2024 that the Vice Chancellor (Vice Chancellor) in universities will now be known as 'Kulguru'. This address implies a sense of affection, attachment and respect.
Academics believe that the term 'Kulguru' reflects the ancient Guru-Shishya tradition and better defines the role of the academic head in the Indian knowledge system. This change is being seen as a cultural and philosophical restructuring.
There have been varied reactions on social media to this change. Some are considering it a positive step, while others are calling it part of a cultural change. A user tweeted, "Very big news from JNU - Vice Chancellor's name changed in JNU, now Vice Chancellor will be called Kulguru. This is like a thunderbolt on the urban Naxal gang."
JNU's move marks a significant shift in the Indian higher education system, where traditional and gender neutral terminology is being adopted. It will be interesting to see how other institutions take steps in this direction.