'Anthropologically, no god is a Brahmin', says JNU VC Santishree Dhulipudi

She also said the "status of Shudras given to women in Manusmriti" makes it extraordinarily regressive. "Let me tell all women that all women, according to Manusmriti, are Shudras. So no woman can claim she is a brahmin or anything else and it is only by marriage that you get the husband or father's caste on you. I think this is something which is extraordinarily regressive," she said.

"The greatest tribute to gender justice would be to implement a uniform civil code," she said, adding that uniformity of laws is meant to make people progressive and broad-minded. She said, "...unless we have social democracy, our political democracy is a mirage".

"In fact, Jagannath has tribal origins. So why are we still continuing with this discrimination which is very very inhuman? It is very important that we are rethinking, and reorienting the thoughts of Babasaheb. We do not have any leader of modern India who was such a great thinker. Hinduism is not a religion. It is a way of life and if it is the way of life, then why are we scared of criticism," she said.

"Gautam Buddha was one of the first to wake us up on the discriminations which are embedded, structured in our society," she added.