Panjab University Students Win, Senate Elections Notified

On 27 Nov, the Vice President (VP) of India and Chancellor of Panjab University (PU) Chandrapuram Ponnusamy Radhakrishnan approved the schedule of the PU Senate election. According to the proposed schedule, the election will be conducted from 7 Sep–4 Oct 2026. The last Senate's term ended in January 2024. The delayed poll schedule raises questions on the delay in elections but is a major victory for PU students. The approval came on Day 26 of the protest by PU students under the banner Panjab University Bachao Morcha (Save PU Front). PU Vice Chancellor Renu Vig visited the protest site, formally handed over the communication received from the VP Secretariat and asked the students to end their strike as their primary demand had been met. PU students hailed it as a 'victory of their struggle'. As celebrations broke out, PU students called off the protest on 28 Nov after a victory march. Though the protest is over, students said some demands were pending: revoke the First Information Reports in which 14 students were charged in 2024 over the demand for Senate elections; rollback Standard Operating Procedures introduced to regulate student activities and elections; and scrap the committee formed to review demands raised by Haryana students regarding representation and possible college re-affiliation. The student meetings with the authorities on these demands have been satisfactory. Panjab's political parties and social groups commended the students. Meanwhile, on the Indian government’s recent proposal to introduce the Constitution 131 Amendment Bill, 2025, to include the Union territory of Chandigarh in Article 240 of the Constitution, an informal note explaining the reasons for bringing such a Bill and its benefits was circulated to senior Panjab BJP leaders. The feedback was that the party would not be able to explain the decision and convince the people of Panjab, given their 'sentimental attachment' with Chandigarh and the fact that there is already a 'sense of suspicion and distrust' among a large section of the Sikh community after the attempt to push through three controversial Farm Laws in 2020–21 (earlier coverage).