Panjab University: Students lock DSW office over senate elections
The door on the first floor, from where the offices of DSW, DSW women and associate DSW can be accessed, was locked by the students who also put up a “missing” poster for a “vice-chancellor who cares”
Protestors from the Panjab University Bachao Morcha locked the first floor of the Dean Students Welfare (DSW) office building on Tuesday afternoon. This happened as the outfit had announced a protest over the varsity still not calling the senate elections and the harassment of some of the research scholars of the morcha at the hands of PU authorities.
While the student protest reached its 93rd day on Tuesday, the demonstration was planned to mobilise students for the senate issue after the winter vacations and to protest against the two show-cause notices sent by the PU director of research and development cell.
Members of most major student parties assembled and spoke about the importance of the senate and how PU has been working without any democratically elected governing body since October 31. As a part of the protest, the students rushed beyond the perimeter set up by the PU campus security and police officials, and went into the dean of student welfare (DSW) office building at the Student Centre.
The door on the first floor, from where the offices of DSW, DSW women and associate DSW can be accessed, was locked by the students who also put up a “missing” poster for a “vice-chancellor who cares”.
Meanwhile, DSW Amit Chauhan, who was supposed to hold some meetings in the afternoon on Tuesday, said, “I had gone out of the building during the time of the protest. When I came back after lunch, the door had been opened, so our work wasn’t hampered.”
No action will be taken against students: DSW
Chauhan added that what happened was between the DSW and the students. “They are our students after all, so we won’t take action against them. We will sit with the students and counsel them that doing such things is wrong.”
Meanwhile, PU had recently filed a permanent injunction in a local court against holding protests outside the offices of various PU officials which had been disposed off with instructions to the protesters that they can continue their demonstration, but there should be no breach of peace at the spot. The court also directed that the students can’t restrain any passage or road which leads to the offices of officials which causes inconvenience to the visitors, the students and the staff. Further, the orders read, they shall not block any main gate of the university and not cause any inconvenience to officials in any way.
While Tuesday’s actions were prima facie against this, despite the order coming out in December 2024, the students still continue to camp outside the V-C office, blocking its main entrance. Officials like the DSW have held meetings with the students, urging them to not block the entrances after the order. The varsity had also written to UT police about compliance of the court’s order, but police has, till now, not acted on it. As per people familiar with the issue, PU is considering its options over what to do next in this case.
DSW office locked twice in two days
Tuesday’s actions had a sense of deja vu, as on Monday too, a research scholar, who has been making allegations of using objectionable language against the warden of Boys Hostel Number 5 for around a month, had gone to the DSW office to ask why action had not been taken in the case. Former National Students Union of India (NSUI) state president Sikander Boora was also present when protesters locked the DSW’s office from outside while the DSW was present there. The office was later opened and no action has been taken in this case as well.
Some officials said this wasn’t the first time that such an incident happened. During former DSWs’ tenure, including Emanual Nahar’s, protesters used to do this as well, they added.
