On Monday, tension escalated at Panjab university with Chandigarh UT Police employing the use of canes to prevent hundreds of demonstrators mostly students and faculty members getting on the campus. The protesters were insisting on the release of the long pending time table on the senate elections in the university. Even with the strong presence of the police and barricades at the university gates, the protesters succeeded in forcing their way in and storming the gates in masses and fueling the agitation.
The demonstrations follow a few days after the withdrawal of a controversial action by the central government to change the elected governing bodies of Panjab University, the senate and the syndicate to nominated bodies. Despite the decision of the Centre to revoke its previous notification that was issued on October 28, the protesting campaigners, led under the umbrella of the Panjab University Bachao Morcha have persisted with their agitation with the latest notification being issued on November 7. They demand that the university should publish senate elections immediately, which has been pending a long time.
The previous restructuring process by the Centre is perceived by protesters, especially the Punjab, to be an assault on the old foundations of autonomy in the university and the federal system of governance. They maintain that it is the elected bodies that will guarantee democratic operations in the institution. General secretary of PUCSC Abhishek Daggar reiterated, without any definite date of elections, our protest will continue.
Prior to the November 10 protest call, the authorities had already announced a two-day holiday in the university on Monday and Tuesday. This was accompanied by security guards being deployed in the campus and at border points of Chandigarh-Mohali to keep the situation at bay. The police, nevertheless, employed soft power to clear any groups of people, which attempted to take away any barricades.
PUCSC vice-president, Ashmeet Singh alleged that the demonstration was supposed to be a peaceful one, yet several students were being refused admission despite having valid identification. The university administration insisted that only people carrying official university ID cards could enter, raising the issues of safety and security due to the growing protests.
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