Round The States

New Delhi, 15 August 2026

NALSAR Students’ Row

RIGHT TO PROTEST UPHELD

By Insaf 

Hyderabad now has its set of students’ protesting! This time its not about examinations, but about an invitation to the Chief Justice of India, which has raised a hornet’s nest. Over 450 of 1400 outgoing students of National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University had signed a representation addressed to the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, professors and other university authorities, urging them to reconsider the reported decision to invite Justice Surya Kant as the chief guest to the university’s convocation. This triggered a bizarre directive from the Bar Council of India chief Manan Kumar Mishra. He wrote to state bar councils telling them to hold off on enrolling anyone from the batch, citing an inquiry it wanted to run against what it called “an organised campaign” against the CJI. However, by evening the Mishra  made a hasty retreat and withdrew his directive. But, it didn’t prevent the students to petition the VC, wherein it said: “We write to condemn the manner in which you have approached the question of students, faculty, and the autonomy of universities in India,” and that the BCI’s actions, wherein it has ‘no jurisdiction to issue these letters’, “reflect a lack of empathy for students and their mental health, disregard for the fundamental right to free speech, and a tendency to deal with matters of young students and educated faculty in an arbitrary and high-handed manner”. 

Thankfully for the students, on Friday last, the Supreme Court too stepped into the controversy --BCI action against NALSAR University of Law students. The court passed an interim order restraining the BCI or any state bar council from taking punitive action against the University students or faculty over the incidents referred to in BCI chief’s letters.Justice Kant strongly disapproved of the council’s intervention in a student campaign against him. Said he: “BCI is unnecessarily taking action,” adding if students had a cause to protest, “they have the right to protest.”Welcoming indeed.

Ranchi Movement

The students in Jharkhand remain determined. Their protest under ‘JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch’ against alleged irregularities in Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinationsrefuses to ebb as it enters day 22nd. Today, they propose to take out a ‘Tiranga Yatra’on the 80th Independence Day ‘to strengthen their movement’and a warning to Ranchi administration against targeting students. The government though holding talks is not all ears yet. Thursday last the Ranchi Police registered an FIR against 300-odd unidentified persons regarding August 10 ‘Vidhan Sabha gherao’ march, marked by lathicharge and teargas shells. Unfortunately, government-students talks have not been fully successful as the students stand firm on three demands:  cancellation of JPSC and JSSC CGL exams, a CBI inquiry, and enactment of strict laws. So far, the government has handed the case to CID which has arrested seven accused. Not good enough. But the big question is will this movement sustain? Those on hunger strike fear attempts to divert movement’s direction. Their message: ‘Whatever the circumstances, save the movement and stay united’. For now, all fingers are crossed. 

Arunachal Denial

No more denials please, is a message by theAll-Arunachal Pradesh Students’ to both the Centre and state governments. On August 13, it sent a team to frontier village of Taksing, following afact-finding report by People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), claiming Chinese PLA soldiers had taken over a patrolling point abandoned by Indian Army in 2023.While Chief Minister Pema Khandu has denied any incursion, AAPS says its team’s tour shall ‘make a ground assessment, draw greater attention to border security, connectivity, and infrastructure in remote areas.”Additionally, ‘Taksing Chalo, Bharat Bachao’tour would end on August 15 with Tricolour hoisting and a report will be submitted to Khandu and Delhi. Significantly, Nah Welfare Society of a tribe residing near the border, has repeatedly flagged ‘takeover’ of Indian territories by PLA. It informed PPA that PLA has since 2023 denied access to Indian patrolling at Shera 5 Point. Hope the report is read, not brushed aside or denied. At the very least it should warrant a credible investigation. 

Uttarakhand Mindset

Politics aside, the ‘shuddhikaran havan’ (purification) of the Ram Lila grounds in Haldwani, Uttarakhand by Shri Ram Sena Dharmarth Seva Nyas, following a public meeting addressed by Congress President and Rajya Sabha’s Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge last week, must make our heads hang in shame. This is not merely about Congress’ allegation of an ‘anti-Dalit’ mindset of BJP and RSS. Nor should it be reduced to yet another political slugfest. It exposes something far more reprehensible: a mindset that, even days before India celebrates its 80th Independence Day, refuses to change. Not one but all political parties must share the blame. Kharge’s words in Rajya Sabha Kharge’s can’t simply be dismissed as political rhetoric: ‘I don’t want to make this a political issue. I have never told anyone that I am a Dalit; protect me. I have never begged before anyone. I have the power to fight and I fight…but I feel humiliated.’ What about the ordinary Dalit who has neither a national platform nor the power to fight back? How does he or she fight—and for how long? Kharge and his party demand action under the Untouchability (Offences) Act; the ruling BJP says it shall act. It must! For it’s time we purified not our public grounds—but our minds. 

Kanwar Yatra Garbage Trail

Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, the ‘Gateway to Gods’ was buried in a mountain of garbage! The municipal corporation had a herculean task before it, to clean up the trash left by nearly five crore pilgrims, who had descendedto collect water from the Ganga this Sawan. What they left behind was bottles filled with urine, 7,000 tonnes of trash including plastic items, discarded clothes, and other items at ‘Haar Ki Pauri’ in ‘Devbhoomi’. Videos went viral showing cleaners without gloves or masks removing the trash, as the ghats had to be cleaned up for Shivratri. The sheer scale of the waste has left locals and environmentalists seething. Plastic and other refuse pose a serious threat to this ecologically sensitive region, its flora and fauna, and ultimately to the Ganga itself. Beyond the environmental damage lies another question: what about respect for the sanctity of one of our holiest pilgrimage sites?----INFA 

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)