Tension escalated at Rajasthan University here on Friday (April 3, 2026) as the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) members clashed with the police during their protest against a disputed event linked to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organised on the campus. Police detained over a dozen students and took them away.
The student wing of the Opposition Congress took exception to a programme being organised by Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan at the humanities auditorium on the university campus, saying it was meant to promote the RSS ideology on the pretext of deliberating on women’s empowerment.
Senior RSS pracharak Ram Lal was scheduled to deliver keynote address at the seminar. The NSUI activists staged a massive protest, saying the university should provide space for education and critical thinking rather than offering a platform for “political propaganda” to the organisations like the RSS.
The protesters assembled at the university’s entrance gate and climbed on the barricades set up by the police, while raising slogans amid scuffles with the policemen. Heavy security forces, including riot control vehicles, were deployed on the spot, and the police personnel used mild force to disperse the NSUI workers.
NSUI leader Amardeep Parihar, who led the protest, demanded an immediate cancellation of the scheduled programme, while pointing out that a similar ‘Shastra Pujan’ event organised by the RSS on the campus on September 30, 2025, had led to a major confrontation and exposed the university administration’s attempt to influence the academic environment.
Vice-Chancellor Alpana Kateja said in a statement that the university had only rented out the auditorium to a women’s organisation for holding a seminar. “Rajasthan University has no official information about the programme being conducted as an RSS-sponsored event,” Prof. Kateja said.
The Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan is a Rajasthan-based organisation, operating as a State unit affiliated with the Bharatiya Stree Shakti, which forms part of the larger ideological family or ‘Sangh Parivar’ of the RSS.
Senior Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot, Govind Singh Dotasra and Tika Ram Jully condemned the use of force against the protesters and the detention of NUSI leaders and activists. Demanding the release of the detained NSUI workers, Mr. Gehlot said the suppression of protest against the imposition of RSS ideology in the university reflected the BJP Government’s “frustration and dictatorial mindset”.
Published – April 04, 2026 03:33 am IST
