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The Rashmi Samant racism row started when cyber bullying and Cancel culture led to the forceful resignation of 22-year old Rashmi Samant, a MSc student of energy systems at the Linacre college, Oxford University from the Oxford University Student Union President post. Background Rashmi Samant, a 22-year old from Udupi of Karnataka, currently pursuing her master's degree in Energy systems at the Oxford University, got elected as the first Indian woman president of the Oxford University Student Union on February 11, 2021. During her campaign, she had compared Cecil Rhodes to Adolf Hitler by recalling the comments of former on India. Rashmi had received 1966 of the 3708 votes cast for the post. Cyber Bullying Rashmi claims that Internet bullies, including a faculty member, had unfairly targeted her and dragged her family into the affair. She also claimed that the incessant bullying drove her to catch first flight home to India. Rashmi also suggested that foreign universities should have regulations to protect students of colour from being cancelled. Reactions from India On March 15, 2021, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ashwini Vaishnaw slammed the racism and cyberbullying Rashmi Samant faced in the United Kingdom after "being the first Indian woman president of Oxford University Student Union". Speaking on the issue in Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar commented that India will never turn eyes from racism, particularly in a country where it has its large diaspora. He also added that the matter will be taken up with United Kingdom Sreemoy Talukdar writing for Firstpost claimed that 'the cancel culture raging in the West and ravaging all its academic and cultural institutions has been brought into recent focus by an incident involving an Indian student at Oxford University'. He further wrote that Indians and Hindus remain the most vulnerable to this onslaught.<ref name="fprs" /> MP of Udupi Chikmagalur, Shobha Karandlaje and MLA of Mangalore City North Dr Bharath Shetty backed Rashmi<ref name="toitw" />
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