Chandigarh PU protests: A complex web of student activism, politics

Hindustan Times

26-06-2025

Amid ongoing controversy over the recent affidavit imposing conditions on protests within Panjab University (PU), long-time participants in campus politics note that the nature of protests at PU has evolved significantly over the years. While protests are not new to the university, with higher incidents of violence in PU reported before, this year marks the first time that PU has sought a blanket affidavit from new admissions to limit how they protest inside the campus. This is first time that PU has sought a blanket affidavit from new students to limit how they protest inside the campus. (HT File)
Brinder Singh Dhillon, who served as the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) president from the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) during 2008-09, said that protests have taken a turn for the worse ever since the police started getting involved.
'When we were students, we would not allow police to enter the campus and if they came that itself became a point of protest. Ever since the Lyngdoh Committee Guidelines have been adopted by PU, student leaders aren't leaders anymore they have become managers.'
He added that protests are now 'managed' in a way that brings people together on various issues, but the genuine passion among students has diminished. Dhillon also lamented the increasing politicisation of student parties on campus. 'When Rahul Gandhi visited the university, we switched from SOPU to the newly formed National Students Union of India (NSUI) in PU. Although we went on to win the elections after that, I sometimes wonder if this shift contributed to the current situation, considering the growing number of student parties at PU and the internal factions that have emerged within each party due to political involvement,' he remarked.
A senior PU professor with over 50 years of experience, who has witnessed decades of campus protests, explained that the increasing politicisation of student movements has contributed to the recent problems and incidents of indiscipline seen at PU last year. According to the professor, students now receive funding from political parties and are encouraged to stage protests for every issue that they can find. The emergence of left-leaning parties around 2017, she noted, marked a turning point, with demonstrations becoming more violent and ideologically driven, shifting away from student-centric concerns.
PU vice-chancellor Renu Vig stated that protests are being directed keeping the student elections in mind. She explained that the decision to introduce the affidavit for new admissions came up after the FIR filed against students for disrupting a function attended by the chief minister of Punjab. A call was taken to include such an affidavit, to protect students' futures and to avoid situations with violent protests like those witnessed this session.
The founding president of SOPU and two time PUCSC president DPS Randhawa said that during their time when protests were taken out in a larger scale, there was trust between the students and the authorities. 'I would say most of our problems were solved within PU without involving the police or other authorities. Youngsters are bound to object to authoritarian measures taken out by the officials. I would urge teachers to step up as intermediaries. Students respect them and both the students and PU authorities need to resolve their disputes on their own,' he said. Sociologist and PU professor Pam Rajput added that both sides including the students and the authorities need to deal with this issue with maturity.