Police Use Canes as Protesters Force Entry into Panjab University Demanding Immediate Senate Election Dates

Police Use Canes as Protesters Force Entry into Panjab University Demanding Immediate Senate Election Dates

The central demand of the continuing agitation is the immediate announcement of a schedule for elections to the original 91-member Senate.

RMN News Education Desk
November 10, 2025

CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 10 — Panjab University (PU) witnessed a clash between demonstrators and the Chandigarh UT Police today, as protesters gathering for a November 10 shutdown call sought to enter the campus demanding an immediate schedule for the much-delayed PU senate elections.

The Chandigarh UT Police resorted to using canes in an effort to disallow protesting students and others—including activists from Sikh organizations and farm unions—from accessing the Panjab University campus to join the ongoing stir.

The protesters, stopped initially at the gates, sought to remove barricades, prompting the police to react with canes. However, the demonstrators largely managed to overwhelm the police presence and successfully entered the campus in large numbers to support the agitation.

The protests continue, seeking a poll schedule, even after the Centre backed down on its move to replace elected governing bodies with nominated ones.

Demand for Democracy and Schedule

The central demand of the continuing agitation is the immediate announcement of a schedule for elections to the original 91-member Senate. Student leaders leading the agitation emphasized that the movement is fundamentally about restoring democracy on campus.

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

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

Protests for retaining the electoral method for choosing the university’s top decision-making bodies, the senate and the syndicate, have persisted.

Rollback ‘Means Nothing’ Without Elections

The continuation of the agitation follows recent action by the Central government regarding the university’s governance structure. The education ministry had officially rescinded its October 28 notification on the restructuring of governing bodies on November 7.

However, the Centre’s decision did little to alter the stance of groups agitating under the banner of the Panjab University Bachao Morcha, who had announced they would continue their protest until the schedule for senate elections was officially announced.

Protesters, particularly those from Punjab, viewed the initial restructuring move as an “assault on the historic university’s autonomy and on the country’s federal structure”. Student leaders stated clearly that the rollback “means nothing without senate elections,” confirming the decision to continue the protest.

This ongoing struggle for electoral autonomy, where activists prioritized institutional democracy over a structural concession, illustrates a situation akin to a marathon runner refusing to stop after clearing a single roadblock, knowing the finish line—the election schedule—is still miles away.