Overview
- Students say Vice‑Chancellor V Nagaraj told class representatives on April 15 that women wearing shorts invite sexual harassment and distract students and faculty.
- Over 250 students held an overnight sit‑in from April 16 into April 17 at the Tiruchirappalli campus, many wearing shorts and carrying signs that read “blame the mindset, not clothes.”
- Nagaraj later called his comments fatherly advice about the university’s reputation and said they were taken out of context, declining to apologise and stating he answers to higher authorities.
- The student body is demanding a public retraction and apology, an institutional inquiry, and a clear affirmation that clothing does not cause harassment.
- Students and reports point to a 2016 incident at NLSIU Bengaluru involving similar remarks by Nagaraj, and peers at NLU Jodhpur have issued a solidarity note, as protesters say no formal action or apology has followed the protests.