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PU withdraws ‘anti-protest’ affidavit after week-long students’ agitation
The decision to withdraw the affidavit came hours after nearly 125 students, along with around 50 members of the ‘Bharatiya Kisan Majdoor Morcha’, marched from the vice-chancellor (V-C) office to the administration block, demanding that registrar YP Verma officially announce the rollback.
Panjab University (PU) on Tuesday withdrew its controversial “anti-protest” affidavit after a week-long agitation by students on the campus. The announcement was made in the evening by dean student welfare (DSW) Amit Chauhan, who said, “The affidavit that was being signed by new admissions in the university is being taken back in full totality.”
After the announcement, PUCSC general secretary Abhishek Dagar ended his seven-day hunger strike and was admitted to Max Hospital, Mohali, for medical observation.
High drama during the day
The decision to withdraw the affidavit came hours after nearly 125 students, along with around 50 members of the ‘Bharatiya Kisan Majdoor Morcha’, marched from the vice-chancellor (V-C) office to the administration block, demanding that registrar YP Verma officially announce the rollback. The standoff intensified when protesters broke through closed gates and staged a sit-in outside the registrar’s office with Dagar laying down outside. After getting no response from the varsity authorities for nearly an hour, the students asked the staff to vacate the building, effectively bringing the entire block to a standstill.
The controversial affidavit
Introduced in June through the Handbook of Information 2025, the affidavit required students seeking admission to the university to obtain prior permission before organising any form of protest. It further restricted demonstrations to a designated area near the Police Chowki and Health Centre in Sector 14. The punitive action for violation, included debarring students from examinations, banning them from contesting campus elections, having their admissions cancelled, or even banning their entry to the university’s campuses.
How the protest gained momentum
Tensions began rising on October 30, when one of the student groups launched a sit-in outside the V-C office. On the same day, Dagar announced an indefinite hunger strike, demanding the affidavit’s withdrawal. A day later, another student group joined the agitation with its protest call announced a few days prior. The agitation drew wide political support as former chief minister and MP Charanjit Singh Channi, former Sangrur MP Simranjeet Singh Mann, and farmer leader Balbir Singh Rajewal among many others visited the protest site to extend solidarity.
Punjabi singer Babu Maan congratulated the students after the withdrawal, calling it a “well-earned victory.”
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring echoed the sentiment. “The first step has been won; the PU administration has finally withdrawn the affidavit rule. The struggle will continue till the very end against any move that weakens the democratic spirit of Panjab University,” he wrote on social media site X.
Meanwhile, PUCSC president Gauravveer Singh Sohal announced via Instagram that a delegation from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had met Vineet Joshi, secretary of higher education, and received assurance that the affidavit would be withdrawn. The delegation’s letter to the Ministry of Education also raised a broader set of demands-including student representation in the proposed senate structure, an allocation of ₹7,100 crore for infrastructure development, waiver of property tax by the municipal corporation, implementation of OBC reservation, completion of the pending auditorium project and the declaration of PU as an “Institute of Eminence.”
Protest against senate reforms to continue
Despite the university’s directive stating that “student organisations will end their protest in all forms,” student leaders have announced that their agitation against the senate reforms will continue.
PUCSC vice-president Ashmeet Singh said, “Our fight was always bigger than the affidavit. We will now continue our struggle against the senate reforms.”
Avtar Singh, a student leader of the SOPU party, confirmed that their protest would resume from Wednesday itself, adding that they expect NSA detainee Amritpal Singh’s father Tarsem Singh to join them.
Council member Mohit Manderana echoed the sentiment, stating, “While the affidavit was a vital part of our fight, the senate is the soul of our campus. From Wednesday, we’ll continue our protest to protect it.”
