MLSU Aurangzeb Controversy: Remarks Taken Out of Context, says Vice Chancellor

Udaipur, Sept 13, 2025: The MLSU controversy on the remarks referring to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb by the Vice Chancellor Prof, Sunita Mishra, have led to protest by the ABVP and associated student groups in Udaipur.

The Vice Chancellor, in a public message through the MLSU PR department, has said that her remarks have been taken out of context. In her statement, she said "The speech I delivered at the international conference yesterday was misrepresented. If you listen to the entirety of my speech, you will not find any instance where I praised Aurangzeb. I provided various historical references. As a non-Hindi speaker, there can be some misunderstandings with the language during the listening process. My intention was never to offend anyone. I apologize if my statements have caused any distress to anyone.." (please note that the statement through the PR department was given in Hindi. This is the closest English translation).

Remarks That Led to Protest

Prof Sunita Mishra was delivering her key address in an event "Indian Knowledge System: Roadmap for Developed India 2047" organised at the Mohanlal Sukhadia Universirty. During her speech in Hindi, she spoke about the traditional depth of the Indian knowlege system and how this has taught Indians to address global challenges. She said that today no country can compete with India's traditional knowledge system and ancient cultural traditions of India. This has also enabled India to make deep inroads into the global market.

During this narrative, she said that from a historical perspective, we hear about the life and times of many rulers and emperors like Maharana Pratap, Prithviraj Chauhan and Akbar. She further added that "many good kings are remembered for their skills, and some, like Aurangzeb, who was an efficient administrator." (Translated from her Hindi narrative). This statement on Aurangzeb and comparing emperor Akbar on the same platform as Maharana Pratap and Prithviraj Chauhan, was what was the main objection by the ABVP. Pushpendra Singh of the ABVP said, "It is not acceptable to call Aurangzeb an efficient administrator. The Vidyarthi Parishad strongly condemns such statements, which misinterpret our history and mislead the youth".

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