Students shut PU gate over PU Senate decision; hunger strike against affidavit enters Day 6

The atmosphere at Panjab University got tense on Monday as two parallel student movements — one against the controversial anti-protest affidavit and the other resisting the recent restructuring of the university Senate — led to a day of high-voltage agitation on the campus.

While PUCSC general secretary Abhishek Dagar’s indefinite hunger strike entered the sixth day, another faction of students demanding restoration of the elected Senate intensified their campaign by forcibly shutting down PU gate No. 2 around 2 pm, marking a dramatic turn in the ongoing standoff. Students raised slogans against PU and Chandigarh Police as the latter tried to control the crowd near the PU gate facing Sector 15. The gate remained closed for several hours before the university authorities reopened it around 6 pm, following negotiations.

Dagar, who began his hunger strike on September 29, continued to sit outside the VC office, refusing food in protest against the mandatory affidavit required from students during admission. The affidavit, students argue, effectively curtails the right to dissent by mandating prior permission for any protest, restricting demonstrations to a designated zone and prescribing disciplinary penalties, including cancellation of admission and ban on campus entry in case of violations.

Calling the affidavit “an authoritarian code meant to silence students,” Dagar reiterated that he would not end his fast until the university withdrew the undertaking.

The campus saw escalation on another front when student organisations, including SFS, PSU Lalkaar and some others, marched toward gate No. 2 in the afternoon and closed it. The agitation had begun on November 1 and intensified today as protests over the Senate issue turned into a campus blockade. Students argue that this change strikes at the very core of the university’s autonomy and heritage, dismantling a governance model that has functioned democratically for nearly six decades. They allege that the abolition of the graduate constituency and substantial reduction of elected seats amounts to “institutional disenfranchisement”, with student groups calling it a step that “turns PU from a university of the people into a university run from above.”

Meanwhile, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda visited the campus in the afternoon and met Dagar, expressing solidarity with students. Hooda later held a meeting with the VC to discuss both affidavit and the Senate controversy, and returned to brief the gathering. “I have conveyed to the VC the genuine concerns of the students,” Hooda told protesters.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra, along with BSP Punjab president Avtar Singh Karimpuri also reached the protest site to meet Dagar and express solidarity with both student factions. Chandumajra said, “PU has always been a democratic academic space. Imposing restrictions on protests and dismantling elected bodies is unacceptable”, while Karimpuri urged the administration to “address student concerns before the situation escalated further”.

When Chandigarh Police and PU security arrived on Sunday night to remove Dagar from the protest site, hundreds rallied behind him, including those protesting on Senate issue, raising slogans and stopped authorities in carrying out their plans to end the protest. Huge police presence was visible near the administrative block and campus gates, though no major law-and-order situation was reported.

Despite the mounting pressure, the university administration remained silent on the key demands. Sources in the university, however, indicated that internal discussions may soon take place in light of the growing political attention and the prolonged hunger strike. Students meanwhile insisted they would not relent.

As dusk settled over the campus, Gate No. 2 was reopened, restoring movement, but not diffusing the tension. Dagar sat surrounded by classmates and alumni, many of whom raised slogans, calling for student unity and administrative accountability. “This is about future generations at PU,” he said quietly.