No polls in four decades, student politics takes back seat

HEART OF PUNJAB

Sanjeev Bariana

Updated At : 07:03 AM Aug 05, 2026 IST

Members of the NSUI stage a protest against the NEET paper leak in Delhi. File

The month-long Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in New Delhi may have stirred campuses across India, but the impact was barely noticeable in Punjab. Independent student leaders say the silence is rooted in history: Punjab’s universities have been without student unions for over four decades, leaving generations of students without a platform to debate politics or demand reforms.

THE TRIBUNE, India’s oldest, daily English-language newspaper, was first published on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan), and save for 40 days in the immediate aftermath of Partition, has come out every day over the last 145 years. THE TRIBUNE was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist of the time. The newspaper is run by a five-member Trust, which is chaired by Shri N N Vohra, former Governor of J&K State (2008-2018); as well as Justice S S Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court; Shri Gurbachan Jagat, former Governor of Manipur; Lt Gen. Shamsher Singh Mehta, former Western Army Commander; Shri Paramjit Singh Patwalia, Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court.

THE TRIBUNE is free, objective, and independent. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language, are the hallmarks of the paper.

The Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).

Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia

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No polls in four decades, student politics takes back seat

HEART OF PUNJAB

Sanjeev Bariana

Sanjeev Bariana

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