In a move to eradicate gendered language, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) became one of the latest universities to introduce gender-neutral designations for its top post. The university has decided to replace the term Kulpati (head of a clan or institution) with Kulguru (teacher or guide of the clan) as the official designation for Vice-Chancellor in Hindi.

The move is aimed at aligning the university with ancient academic traditions. In an executive council meeting earlier this year, the Vice-Chancellor of JNU, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, suggested that the new term be adopted “for the signature on degree certificates and other academic documents.”

Referring to the title change, Pandit told national media, “Kulguru is the most appropriate for a VC. It is gender-neutral. Sanskrit is more accurate, and this reflects my job better as a first among equals in academia.”

Other Similar Moves

JNU’s action was followed by a similar move in the state of Rajasthan, where the state government in February introduced the Rajasthan University Law (Amendment) Act 2025. The bill sought to formally replace the words Kulpati and Pratīka Kulpati (translating to Pro-Vice-Chancellor) with Kulguru and Pratīk Kulguru in all state university laws written in Hindi. The Rajasthan bill’s statement of objects and reasons cites India’s ancient educational model, stating that “the Vice-Chancellor is the principal executive and academic officer in state-funded universities of Rajasthan,” and that the nomenclature change is in keeping with the guru-shishya parampara (teacher-disciple tradition).

This bill was passed in March, while last year, the Madhya Pradesh cabinet also approved a similar proposal.

While some — including scholars and administrators — argue that guru evokes the ancient guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition and better captures the role of an academic head in the Indian knowledge system, others call the change in nomenclature a systematic effort by the ruling regime to Sanskritise the academic space.