PU Students Vow to Continue Indefinite Protest Despite Centre’s Rollback of Senate Restructuring

PU Students Vow to Continue Indefinite Protest Despite Centre’s Rollback of Senate Restructuring

RMN News Report Highlights:

✅ The Union Ministry of Education officially rescinded the controversial October 28 notification aimed at restructuring the Panjab University Senate on Friday, November 7, 2025.
📢 Despite the Centre’s rollback, the “Panjab University Bachao Morcha” is continuing its indefinite protest until an immediate schedule for the original 91-member Senate elections is announced.
📅 Protesters plan to go ahead with the university shutdown (“PU Bandh”) on Monday, November 10, which is expected to include participation from various farmers’ unions, student unions, and social groups.
🏛️ Students are also demanding systemic reform, suggesting the Vice-Chancellor be selected through a transparent, live-streamed process led by senators to ensure they promote academic interests.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | November 8, 2025

Chandigarh, November 8, 2025 — The political and administrative crisis at Panjab University (PU) remains unresolved despite the Union Ministry of Education officially rescinding its controversial notification to restructure the university’s governing body. While the Centre withdrew the October 28 notification on Friday, November 7, 2025, which had sought to replace the democratically elected Senate with smaller, largely nominated bodies, student protesters are refusing to stand down.

This rollback effectively restores the university’s previous governance structure as mandated under the Panjab University Act, 1947. However, the “Panjab University Bachao Morcha” (Save Panjab University Front), a united front of various student organizations, has vowed to continue its indefinite protest.

The Core Demand: An Election Timeline

Protesters argue that the withdrawal of the notification is only a partial victory and does not guarantee the restoration of the democratic process without a fixed election date. The central demand of the continuing agitation is the immediate announcement of a schedule for elections to the original 91-member Senate.

The previous term of the Senate expired on October 31, 2024. Since then, the varsity has been awaiting the election schedule from the office of the Chancellor, the Vice-President of India. Over the past year, the Senate election schedule has been submitted four times but has received no response.

[ 🔊 ਪੰਜਾਬ ਯੂਨੀਵਰਸਿਟੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਹਲਫ਼ਨਾਮੇ ਦੇ ਵਿਵਾਦ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਪ੍ਰਦਰਸ਼ਨ ਤੇਜ਼: ਆਡੀਓ ਵਿਸ਼ਲੇਸ਼ਣ ]

Protestors Press Ahead with November 10 Shutdown

Despite the Centre’s decision, the Panjab University Bachao Morcha is moving forward with the planned “PU Bandh” (university shutdown) scheduled for Monday, November 10. Large numbers of people from various farmers’ unions, student unions, activists, and other social groups are expected to participate in the protest.

The ongoing demonstrations have garnered significant political and civil society support. Earlier, the initial restructuring notification triggered widespread political backlash, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and various other political and farmer leaders condemning it as an attack on Punjab’s autonomy and the university’s democratic character.

However, some protesting students assert that the Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has betrayed them, claiming that the AAP speaks the language of the Modi regime, which they believe is “hell-bent to destroy academic institutions in the country to promote its communal ideology”.

During campus demonstrations, which saw nearly 200 students gather outside the Vice-Chancellor’s office on Friday, protesters were joined by former senators, PU alumni, and political and religious leaders.

Vice-Chancellor Selection

Given the scale of the planned agitation, the varsity administration is also considering declaring November 10 a day off. Beyond the immediate crisis, students are demanding systemic change, including that the Vice-Chancellor (VC) be selected through a transparent live-streamed process led by the senators.

This, they argue, would ensure the VC acts as a true academic leader promoting educational interests, instead of functioning as an agent of the Central government to promote a “poisonous religious ideology” within the university. Students also suggest that the elected-senate system should be adopted in other universities to foster a democratic academic culture nationwide.

In essence, while the immediate threat of governance overhaul has been removed, Panjab University remains in a state of limbo, with activists determined to hold the line until full democratic elections are guaranteed.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.