Varanasi Student Enters 14th Day of Sit-In Protest Alleging Caste-Based Discrimination
Varanasi, April 4 — A Dalit student at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has been staging a protest outside the Vice Chancellor’s residence for the past 14 days, alleging discrimination in the PhD admission process after being denied entry into the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies.Shivam Sonkar, the protesting student, claimed that the department had advertised six PhD positions — three for candidates with a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and three to be filled through a written entrance test. He applied through the entrance test route and secured the second position in the merit list.
However, according to Sonkar, none of the three entrance test seats were reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates. The available positions were filled by candidates from the General and OBC categories. He also pointed out that none of the three JRF-category seats were filled.
“The university had the option to convert the unfilled JRF seats for other candidates, but they refused to exercise that discretion in my case,” Sonkar alleged. He began his sit-in protest on March 21, the day after the PhD admission results were declared.
University Responds, Denies Policy Violation
In response, the BHU administration issued a clarification stating that Sonkar had applied through the Research Entrance Test (RET), for which only two seats were open — one for General and one for OBC — and both had been filled."Since he ranked second, he could not be admitted," the university said.
Addressing Sonkar's demand to convert the three unfilled JRF-category seats into entrance test seats, the administration emphasized that such a move is not allowed under existing PhD admission regulations. “His admission request cannot be granted due to his rank and the regulatory framework,” the statement added.
Protest to Continue Despite VC's Assurance
Despite an assurance from Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Sanjay Kumar on April 3 that his case would be reconsidered, Sonkar has vowed to continue the protest until his admission is granted.“I will not end my protest unless the university accepts my demand,” Sonkar affirmed, alleging that he has been unfairly excluded from the admission process due to his caste.
The protest has drawn attention to concerns about transparency and inclusivity in higher education admissions, especially in departments with limited seats and complex reservation dynamics.
