Hyderabad: The Students’ Federation of India (SFI), University of Hyderabad (UoH) unit demanded the termination of an associate professor in the department of history over alleged casteist, classist and discriminatory remarks against a former student in email correspondence.
The emails, dated April 14–16, 2026, relate to an academic exchange over revisions to the student’s chapter for an edited volume with Bloomsbury. The former student completed his M A in History at UoH during 2017–19 and is currently pursuing PhD at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. His identity has been withheld.
According to receipts of the complaint and email correspondence provided by students to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Vijaya Ramadas initially suggested changes to the chapter, including adding details about the company’s management and converting footnotes to the publisher’s prescribed referencing style. The student explained that research ethics requirements prevented him from identifying individuals without further clearance.
In a subsequent email on April 16, Ramadas made derogatory references to the student’s regional and socio-economic background, including describing Bihar and Jharkhand as “civilisationally, politically and economically backward.”
He also used a caste-based slur against another student and made disparaging comments about ethnic minorities in the UK.
Ramadas wrote that he would alert faculty members across India not to support the student and said he would not provide further academic assistance. He also referred to preparing communication to the University of Manchester and the student’s Ph.D. supervisors seeking withdrawal of his recommendations for admission and studentship funding.
SFI-HCU has demanded Ramadas’s termination, safeguards against academic retaliation and stronger grievance-redressal mechanisms. It said the student had approached the Vice-Chancellor, the head of the department and the university’s reservation and coordination cell. SFI-HCU has also submitted a separate complaint, while SFI-UK has issued a statement on the matter.
The UoH confirmed receiving the documents and said they’re being reviewed, but had not issued a statement on the allegations at the time of filing. The professor’s response too was not available.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
