‘Madam’s room will also be cool now’: Student union smears cow dung on Delhi principal’s office wall

Haryana: A controversial protest unfolded at Delhi University's Lakshmibai College on Tuesday after Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) president Ronak Khatri smeared cow dung on the walls of Principal Pratyush Vatsala’s office. The move was a direct response to a viral video in which the principal was seen applying cow dung to classroom walls as a method to counter rising temperatures.

Khatri, in a satirical protest, declared that he was "helping" the principal by applying the same natural cooling method to her own workspace. "We have full faith that madam will now get the AC removed from her room and hand it over to students," he posted on X (formerly Twitter), adding that the college should now operate in this “modern and natural” environment.

The incident comes after students raised objections to the cow dung application in classrooms, citing a lack of consent and hygiene concerns. Khatri confronted faculty members during the protest, stating, “If you want to do research, do it at your home. Students were not consulted.”

Principal Pratyush Vatsala had earlier defended the initiative, calling it part of a faculty-led research project exploring sustainable and indigenous cooling technologies. She said that the experiment was still underway and that its outcomes would be shared once the study was complete.

“There’s no harm in touching natural mud,” she said, adding that her actions had been taken out of context. Internal communication showed she had informed faculty members via a WhatsApp group that classrooms in C Block were being prepared for this “pleasant” upgrade.

While the Delhi University administration has not issued a formal response to the protest, earlier statements had aligned the initiative with scientific research into eco-friendly temperature control methods, particularly relevant as Delhi faces increasing summer heat.