PU unrest: Students' dharna enters Day 19; to hold mega meeting on Thursday

Panjab University’s (PU) unrelenting campus unrest tightened further on Wednesday as the students’ indefinite dharna entered its nineteenth day, with the PU Bachao Morcha completing final preparations for tomorrow’s mega meeting that is set to decide the next phase of the agitation amid growing anger over a fresh FIR, what students called the PU administration’s ‘vilification campaign’ to sabotage the peaceful movement, and continued delay in issuing the Senate election notification under the pre-October 30 structure.

The movement — now the biggest youth-led confrontation the PU has witnessed in years — began after The Tribune broke the PU overhaul story on November 1, igniting a fierce political firestorm across Punjab and Chandigarh. This forced the Centre to scrap the overhaul within a week through four hurried notifications between October 30 and November 7. Since then, the campus has remained on the boil, drawing top political, social, religious and civil society leaders, farmer unions, Nihangs of the Quami Insaaf Morcha and anti-BJP fronts to the lawns near the VC office — an echo of the 2020 farm protests that compelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to repeal three controversial laws in November 2023.

The tension deepened this week after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann raised the PU issue before Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Northern Zonal Council meeting in Faridabad on November 17, forcefully reiterating that PU belongs to Punjab and accusing neighbouring states of attempting ‘backdoor entry’ into its governance. Mann’s intervention added heat to an already combustible situation where students accuse the university of employing pressure tactics instead of resolving their long-pending demands.

As the decisive November 20 meeting approaches, PU Bachao Morcha leader Avtar Singh confirmed that “over 100 leaders and representatives” of student organisations, farmer unions, religious bodies, civil society and political parties that have backed the agitation over the past 19 days have committed to gather.

The congregation — initially requested to be held at Golden Jubilee Hall or Rajiv Gandhi Guest House — was denied permission by PU authorities, who insisted it be shifted to the Sector 25 campus. The Morcha refused and locked the venue as the Students Centre committee room at 1 pm, calling the administration’s restrictions “another attempt to stifle democratic space”.

Morcha representatives said tomorrow’s congregation would be “one of its kind — just like November 10”, when thousands stormed the campus in the largest mobilisation PU has seen in recent memory. “We will deliberate sharply and decide the next level of escalation to awaken those in authority from deep slumber,” they said. “The first and foremost demand is immediate notification of the Senate election schedule under the old structure. Alongside this, we want cancellation of the fresh FIR, withdrawal of last year’s FIRs, and an end to the vilification campaign.”

The Morcha’s leaders made it clear that the movement is entering a new, fiercer phase.

“We are ready for the long haul and prepared to take this battle to its logical conclusion. The agitation will only intensify in the coming days as the situation evolves,” they said.

Even on Day 19, the protest lawns near the VC office buzzed with energy, determination and camaraderie. Volunteers and villagers from across Punjab continued the 24x7 langar — tea, meals, snacks, fruits, even dry fruits — mirroring the self-sustaining sit-ins of the farmers’ movement.

Students said only one thing could end the dharna: a formal Senate election notification, as promised before the controversial October 30 notification attempted to restructure PU’s governance.

“If the authorities think we will tire, they haven’t understood us,” the Morcha remarked. “Tomorrow will show that this movement is not fading — it is ripening.”

TIMELINE

• Oct 30: Centre issues restructuring notification altering PU Senate/Syndicate
• Nov 1: The Tribune breaks the story; political storm erupts
• Nov 7: Centre withdraws overhaul after four notifications in seven days
• Nov 9: VC sends draft Senate poll schedule to Vice-President for approval
• Nov 10: Historic march; thousands breach barricades in unprecedented uprising
• Nov 11-18: Fresh FIR, inter-state tensions, daily dharna, 24x7 langar
• Nov 17: CM Mann raises PU issue before Amit Shah at NZC meeting
• Nov 19: Protest enters Day 19; campus awaits Chancellor’s approval
• Nov 20: Mega congregation expected to decide next escalation

HEADED FOR LONG HAUL

Delay in notification, new FIR, administrative pushback and refusal to provide campus venues have hardened positions. Students say they will not attend classes or exams and are planning sustained, intensified action until their demands are met.

WHAT THE MEET CAN DO

• Finalise non-negotiable charter
• Decide next phase: administrative blockade, marches, sit-ins, statewide mobilisation
• Formalise joint front of students, farmers, civil society and political groups
• Put direct pressure on the Vice-President’s office to issue the Senate poll notification