First Indian female president of Oxford University students’ union QUITS

The first Indian female president of Oxford University’s students’ union has stepped down after she was accused of making ‘racist’ and ‘insensitive’ social media posts.

Rashmi Samant last night announced she is withdrawing as President-Elect of the union following widespread criticism of several online posts, for which she has since apologised. 

In the posts, which date back as far as 2017, Ms Samant had captioned an image of herself in Malaysia with the words ‘Ching Chang’ and made a ‘pun’ about the Holocaust while at a memorial in Berlin.  

Ms Samant, who’s studying for an MSc in Energy Systems at Linacre College, was also accused of transphobia over an Instagram post in which she referred to ‘women’ and ‘transwomen’ separately.  

The posts were dubbed ‘racist’ and ‘insensitive’ by critics, with the Oxford Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality and the LGBTQ+ Campaign both calling on Ms Samant to resign shortly after she was elected. 

However, she was today defended by the Free Speech Union, who said it was ‘disappointed’ to see Ms Samant resign from her post, adding: ‘She has apologised for the things she said and that should have been enough.’ 

Ms Samant issued an apology after the posts emerged, writing in an open letter published by student newspaper Cherwell: ‘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. 

‘I fully acknowledge my shortcomings over the years and the past few days in my capacity as President-elect. I come to you with an apology and a willingness to learn. I earnestly seek your help in making amends for my mistakes.’ 

However, despite her apology, Ms Samant yesterday announced on Facebook that she has decided to step down as President-Elect.

She said: ‘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’.  

Graduate student Ms Samant became the first female Indian President of the Oxford University Student Union last week following their biggest-ever turnout for voting.  

Indian MP Shobha Karandlaje hailed Ms Samant’s landmark win on social media, describing her success as a ‘moment of pride for [the] whole [of] Udupi!’  

The postgraduate student had studied at the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka before accepting a postgraduate place at Oxford University.    

But Ms Samant was thrust into controversy after social media posts recently emerged which saw her branded ‘insensitive’ and ‘racist’. 

In one, she was seen posing at the Berlin Holocaust Memorial in June 2017.

The caption reportedly read: ‘The memorial *CASTS* a *HOLLOW* dream of the past atrocities and deeds. Reflecting on it gives us the power to live with the past vouching for a better future. #holocaustMemorial #uniqueArchitecture’.    

The comment was perceived as a ‘pun’ on the Holocaust, an atrocity during which millions of Jewish people were murdered by the Nazis.

After being approached by a concerned student, Ms Samant reportedly said she ‘completely condemns’ the Holocaust and insisted she was ‘not being insensitive.’ 

Following a post from Malaysia in which she used the caption ‘Ching Chang’, one Chinese student told Cherwell it was ‘awful’ that Ms Samant appeared to ‘show no remorse for the use of a phrase which has been used to make fun of Chinese people for our whole lives.’ 

Ms Samant previously claimed that the phrase ‘Ching Chang’ translates from Mandarin to ‘eat the plants,’ which was an inside joke between herself and her friends due to her vegetarianism. 

However, native speakers have contested this to MailOnline, claiming the word ‘Ching’ does not exist in the language. 

Ms Samant has also since apologised for the post which separated ‘women’ and ‘transwomen’  

The Free Speech Union today said it was ‘disappointed’ to see Ms Samant resign from her post, adding: ‘She has apologised for the things she said and that should have been enough.’

A spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Publicly shaming young people and hounding them from the public square just because they’ve said something a bit daft on social media will deter all but the most boring to get involved in student politics. 

‘I hope Rashmi runs for office again soon.’

In an interview with the Oxford Student ahead of her win, Ms Samant had described her priorities as ‘decolonisation and inclusivity’, alongside introducing ‘Covid interventions for all’ and improving access to mental health resources.

The MSc Energy Systems student, who moved to the UK from southwest India in October, had planned to lobby the University to ‘remove all statues proven to be imperialist’, and ‘conduct a comprehensive consultation on decolonisation of syllabi.’

Her manifesto also included plans to ‘tackle institutional homophobia and transphobia, first through conducting a university-wide consultation with the LGBTQ+ community.’     

It read: ‘Being a BAME woman from a former British colony, Rashmi is empathetic towards the struggles faced by marginalised groups.’  

The current Sabbatical Officers of the Student Union yesterday released a statement in the wake of the controversy.  

They said: ‘As your elected representatives and in recognition of the Office we hold, we 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.’ 

It is understood a by-election will now be held to elect a new SU President.  

Ms Samant, Oxford University and the Oxford University Student Union have been contacted for comment.