Jadavpur University Dissolves Panel After Row Over Event Attended By AISA’s Neha Bora

Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya of Jadavpur University issued a notification on Tuesday saying that the "Approving and Monitoring for Programmes" committee had been dissolved and that Registrar Debjit Dutta would oversee such matters until further orders, after a row over a convention organised by Left-backed student groups and attended by AISA president Neha Bora.

The event, titled "Gen Z Movement: Unity of Generation and Resistance ", was held on Monday on the Kolkata campus and drew objections over the alleged presence of political figures from outside the university and over whether it had administrative approval. The move matters because it shifts control of event clearances directly to the registrar after questions were raised over how approval was handled. The university notification did not state why the committee was dissolved.

Convention And Protests

At the convention, speakers took up demands such as scrapping the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Testing Agency, which conducts national-level entrance tests for higher education institutes.

The discussion also included opposition to the SIR of electoral rolls and the proposed ISI Bill. Those issues turned the campus event into a wider political flashpoint beyond a routine student programme.

The ABVP objected to the alleged presence of political figures from outside the university and asked whether the event had administrative approval. The organisers replied that the RSS-affiliated student body had no standing to complain about "outsiders", arguing that several of its leaders who had no connection with the university entered the campus during unrest in August.

Permission Row Explained

Dutta said on Wednesday that the committee had been removed because of a "procedural lapse" in granting permission for the event, and said a new panel would soon be constituted.

"We have also show-caused the chairperson of the Approving and Monitoring for Programmes committee and the dean of students, seeking an explanation for the lapse," Dutta told PTI. He said Jadavpur University supported freedom of expression and the right to hold programmes on campus, but added that the process for approving the "political event" had not been followed.

On Monday, Dutta said he had not been asked for permission and that his office had not cleared the programme. He had earlier warned that strict action would be taken if the event was held without the required approval.

A senior faculty member said the organisers had already secured approval from the relevant committee. Under university rules, the committee's recommendation has to reach the registrar, and that allegedly did not happen, the faculty member said.

Bhaskar Sardar, head of the RSS-linked teachers' body Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh, said the programme was approved without following the prescribed procedure. "The committee approved the programme without consulting the registrar. University halls can be let out to students' unions... Here, the programme was organised by AISA. There was a procedural lapse. We flagged the issue," Sardar said.