London: Rashmi Samant, who made Oxford University history as the first Indian woman to be elected president of the student union (SU), has resigned from the post just days later. Rashmi Samant decided to resign to end the controversy surrounding some of her past remarks and references. Some of Samant’s old social media posts had emerged, which were branded as ‘racist’ and ‘insensitive’.
These included a holocaust reference on a post during a visit to the Berlin Holocaust Memorial in Germany in 2017. She also uploaded a picture of her in Malaysia on Instagram and captioned it ‘Ching Chang’. It reportedly had Chinese students. The 22-year-old also attracted criticism for a campaign post caption that separated women and trans women. The Oxford LGBTQ+ campaign called for her resignation then also.
Samant announced her decision to resign in an open letter published in the student newspaper ‘Cherwell’ earlier this week. “The recent developments might make it hard for you to believe the sincerity of my apologies. However, it deeply pained me to note that I have lost the trust that the student community reposed in me with their votes. Regrettably, I alienated people within our wonderful student community to the extent that they deem me unfit to be the leader they rightfully deserve,” she said.
“I sincerely apologise to every student who has been hurt by my actions or words and seek a chance to gain your trust in me again,” she added.
However, the row continued to escalate and she found her position as president-elect untenable and stepped down.
“In light of the recent events surrounding my election to the presidency of the Oxford SU, I believe it is best for me to step down from the role. It has been an honour to be your president-elect,” she said in a statement on Facebook, Tuesday, later published in ‘The Oxford Student’.
A by-election will now need to be held to elect a new president, with nominations re-opened. It means the fresh election will not be limited to just the previously unsuccessful candidates.
The current 2020-21 officers of the student union said they ‘sincerely apologise for the hurt and discomfort caused by the actions of the President-elect’.
“Oxford SU has a no-tolerance policy towards discrimination. Racism, transphobia and antisemitism have no place in our organisation,” their statement read.
Samant, from Udupi in Karnataka, has since left for India to be with her family amid deep regret. Many of her social media accounts have since been deleted.
Last week, the graduate student reading for an M.Sc in energy systems at Linacre College at Oxford University, scored a landslide win in the Oxford Student Union election.
