PhD scholar snubs Tamil Nadu Governor at convocation, cites anti-Tamil stance

Tamil Nadu: A PhD scholar from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli district refused to receive her doctorate from Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi during the convocation ceremony on Wednesday, August 13.

While varsity top officials, including Vice Chancellor N Chandrasekar, stood near the Governor on the dais, recipients of degrees arrived one by one, posed for photographs and received the degree from him.

However, Jean Joseph walked right past Ravi and gave her degree to Chandrasekar and received it from him. Though the VC told her on the dais to receive her degree from the Governor, she was not inclined to do that.

Governor Ravi, even before Jean Joseph moved away from him, gestured for her to stand beside him and take her degree. However, she apparently ignored the gesture.

Speaking to reporters, the PhD scholar defended her action, stating the Governor’s statements against the Tamil language and its people. She said it was her degree, and it was hence her choice to decide from whom she should receive it.

“I did not find any achievements of the Governor for Tamil when I searched on Google. He could have done so much. I thought, why should I receive the degree from him who is against Tamil and Tamil Nadu,” she told reporters.

She said she believed in the “Dravidian model” and her decision was based on that. “Infact, our Vice-Chancellor Chandrasekar has also achieved a lot. I thought he would be the right person to receive the degree from. There are no personal reasons behind the refusal,” she said.

Reportedly, her husband is an office-bearer of the ruling DMK in Nagercoil town. She works as a senior manager for a company in Nagercoil.

(With PTI inputs)