GNDU student bodies join Panjab University protest, call for united front

The Panjab University (PU) grounds witnessed heated protests on Monday as students, farmers and alumni joined hands against the Central Government’s move to dissolve the university Senate. The agitation, which began on the PU campus, has now gained widespread support, with student groups cutting across party lines to present a united stand.

Extending solidarity, several active student organisations from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar — including the United Sikh Student Federation (USSF), SATH, and a faction of the Punjab Students Union (Lalkar) — joined the protest. Opposing the Centre’s proposed reforms, which they termed an attempt to undermine PU’s autonomy and curtail democratic participation, the student leaders demanded that the 91-member Senate be reinstated through long-pending elections.

“It is not just about one university, it’s about representation,” said Jugraj Singh, national president of the United Sikh Student Federation. “Panjab University is the only university in the state that allows student representation through a democratic process, whereas GNDU, Amritsar, and Punjabi University, Patiala, have nominated Senates with no student voice. The Centre’s so-called reforms aim to end that representation. Without students in the Senate, no one will speak for student welfare.”

Jugraj, who heads a federation of over 5,000 student members across Punjab’s universities and colleges, has also been campaigning for the restoration of student elections at GNDU, which were discontinued years ago citing campus violence.

“These are excuses to deny students their voice,” said Jaskaran Singh, vice-president of SATH. “Universities are meant to nurture leadership and provide platforms for representation. What’s happening at Panjab University will have far-reaching consequences for students across the state and could alter the democratic character of higher education institutions. We will not let that happen,” he asserted.