Once again, the Modi government has played its trademark “masterstroke” — not for the nation’s progress, but to silently tighten its control over Punjab’s institutions. Under the guise of an academic reform, the Centre has cunningly revived the same rule that replaces democratic student elections in Panjab University with the nomination of Fellows by teachers and the Chancellor.
For weeks, students protested, demanding the restoration of their democratic right to elect their representatives. Instead of listening to their voices, the Modi regime has responded with bureaucratic deceit — by cleverly issuing yet another Gazette notification that implements the same rule later, dressed up in legal formalities and “modifications.”
This is not education policy — it’s political manipulation in academic robes. The government first pretended to backtrack, then quietly circled back with a new notification to achieve the same end. This is how democracy is dismantled in instalments — one Gazette at a time.
The BJP-led Centre’s message to Punjab is clear: your universities, your voices, your autonomy — all will be subservient to Delhi’s diktats. The so-called “New India” doesn’t want enlightened students; it wants obedient ones. It doesn’t want debate; it wants discipline.
The irony is painful — the Ministry of “Education” now seems more interested in manufacturing silence than nurturing thought.