Chandigarh Police Detains PU Students for Opposing RSS-Sponsored Program

July

2026

The Chandigarh Police detained student activists of Panjab University (PU) who were protesting against a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) sponsored program at the university. On 10 Jul, a coalition of student organizations under the banner PU Against Saffronisation (PUAS), had demanded the cancellation of an event scheduled at PU, alleging that it promotes ‘a communal and patriarchal ideology’. PUAS objected to the university program, Shakti and Srishti (Women Power and the Universe), centered on women and sustainability, which was slated to feature V Shanta Kumari, chief of the Rashtriya Sevika Samiti, and Sadhvi Ritambhara, founder-chairperson of Durga Vahini—both right-wing Hindutva outfits. PUAS alleged that both speakers are associated with organizations linked to the RSS and have made controversial remarks in the past. PUAS claimed the event was part of an attempt to saffronize educational institutions and argued that universities should remain spaces for democratic, secular, and inclusive dialogue, adding that inviting the speakers was contrary to the values of a public university and demanded that the program be withdrawn. On 20 Jul, the day of the seminar, protesters began marching towards the program when Chandigarh Police stopped them at the auditorium entrance. Following this, the students began sloganeering. PUAS claims that a scuffle broke out between the police and the students, leading the police to detain several students. They were transported to the Sector 24, Chandigarh police station. PUAS condemned the police action, calling it an attempt to suppress the peaceful protest. On 19 Jul, representatives of the students’ union Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and another students’ union, Sath confronted each other and came to blows during the Common University Entrance Test—Undergraduate counseling process outside the Law Auditorium, PU. ABVP representatives alleged that Sath activists tore their banner that bore a photo of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Sath accused the university administration of extending preferential treatment to RSS/BJP-affiliated groups by allowing them to set up a helpdesk right at the entrance of the auditorium. Police had to disperse both the union representatives (earlier coverage).