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New Delhi: “I would not like anybody who says that feminism began with Simone de Beauvoir … Draupadi is the first feminist.”

This statement was made by Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, during her address as the keynote speaker at a three-day international conference that began on August 10 at Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

In addition to identifying Draupadi as the “first feminist,” she described JNU as a “beggar” and accused JNU historians of turning the order of facts and interpretations ‘upside down’.

The conference was organised by BHU’s Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Chair, focusing on the theme “Indian Knowledge Tradition and the Thought of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya: Global Perspective and Contemporary Relevance”.

Hindu saint Mithileshnandini Sharan was invited as the chief guest on the inaugural day of this ‘international conference’ on Indian knowledge traditions.

‘Feminism did not begin with Simone de Beauvoir, Draupadi is the first feminist’

In her speech, while addressing the role of women in Indian tradition, the JNU vice-chancellor remarked that Indian feminism should not be interpreted through the lens of Western feminist thought. She asserted: “I would not like anybody who says that feminism began with Simone de Beauvoir. I would say Indian feminism has nothing to do with patriarchy.”

She went on to call Draupadi from the Mahabharata as the “first feminist”. She said: “Draupadi is the first feminist. And please look at all the questions she asked her husband. Nobody will ask them even today.”

Citing the worship of goddesses in Indian........

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