Panjab University recently postponed all examinations slated for November 18–20 as student protests over the long-pending Senate elections intensified on campus.

Fresh dates will be declared later, Controller of Examinations Jagat Bhushan said, advising students to monitor official updates.

The decision came amid a groundswell of anger over the university’s failure to announce the Senate poll schedule — delayed for more than a year — with protesting students warning they would boycott or disrupt exams if authorities did not act.

During a meeting on November 12, the vice chancellor assured student representatives that the election schedule, currently awaiting approval from the chancellor, would be finalised soon.

But the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) and the ‘Panjab University Bachao Morcha’ have vowed to continue their sit-in outside the VC’s office until a formal announcement is made.

The agitation first erupted after the Centre issued an October notification proposing restructuring of PU’s Senate and Syndicate — a move later withdrawn by the Ministry of Education on November 7. But the delay in conducting elections has kept tensions high.

Political parties and farm unions have also thrown their weight behind the students, including AAP, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM Non-Political).

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal visited the protest site on November 15, calling the unrest “a fight to protect Punjab’s premier institution” and urging collective resistance.

“This is the first attempt to seize a prestigious institution in Punjab, and we must send a strong message that Punjabis will not allow the university to be taken away,” Badal said, according to PTI, adding that a delegation would soon approach the Vice President of India for intervention.

The escalating protests — and now the exam shutdown — underline the emotional and political weight of the standoff, with authorities bracing for further turbulence in the days ahead.