Following Kannaujiya's expulsion, notices have been sent to students participating in the protest since November 20th.
Lucknow – A peaceful protest against the expulsion of Dalit research scholar Basant Kannaujiya has been ongoing at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU) for over a week. Rejecting the university administration’s allegations of “indiscipline,” Kannaujiya continues to protest on campus to protect his constitutional rights to education and justice.
However, the matter has now escalated, with the administration issuing warning notices to students who supported him. Prominent Bahujan activists, including Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad, have come out openly in the matter and are demanding the university’s immediate revocation of his expulsion.
This incident adds another dark chapter of caste discrimination and administrative tyranny to BBAU’s history. Kannaujiya, a PhD scholar in the Department of History, had been studying at the university for the past 14 years. He was accused of “inciting students, vandalism, and trespassing into the Vice Chancellor’s office” during the alleged unrest on campus on September 17th.
The Inquiry Committee and Disciplinary Committee recommended his expulsion based on CCTV footage, student statements, and his past record (which included 14 indiscipline cases, show-cause notices, and FIRs since 2012). Vice-Chancellor Professor Raj Kumar Mittal issued his expulsion order on October 17th, calling his response to the show-cause notice “baseless.” The order also barred him from entering the campus and future admissions.
Immediately after his expulsion, Kannaujiya began a peaceful sit-in, within constitutional limits, which has now entered its seventh day. The protest site is near the main gate of the administrative building, where he is demanding student welfare, raising voice against caste discrimination, and the right to education. However, the administration’s response has become increasingly harsh. Notices have been sent to students participating in the protest since November 20th.
The most recent case concerns Shivam Kumar, a student in the Department of Information Technology. The university’s Proctor’s Office issued letter number 1084/Proct./BBAU/2025 on November 21st, 2025, warning Shivam for “continued involvement in undisciplined activities.” The letter stated: “It has been found that you, in connivance with outsiders, have been participating in a protest at the main gate of the Administrative Building within the university campus since November 20th, 2025.
You have obstructed the movement of teachers, officers, and staff entering and leaving the Administrative Building, and are also involved in creating unrest on the campus. Such actions are a gross violation of the university’s Student Code of Conduct.”
The letter further warned: “You are therefore directed to immediately desist from such undisciplined activities and concentrate on your academic work. You may be punished as per university rules for your undisciplined activities.”
This notice is not only for participation in the protest, but has also become a form of mental harassment for those expressing support. According to Kannaujiya, similar notices are now being sent to other students who have stood in support of him.
Kanaujiya has exposed the administration’s tyranny in his response on social media. He wrote: “Another shameful example of the administration’s dictatorship! In a university with 50% reservation for Dalit students and 51 Dalit professors, Dalit researchers are facing the most caste-based harassment.
I was expelled on false charges of indiscipline, and I have been staging a peaceful protest within the constitutional framework to protect my right to justice and education. But now the administration has issued notices to students who simply stood in my support. All department heads have been ordered not to allow any student/researcher to join Basant Kumar Kannaujiya’s protest.
This clearly shows that the administration fears dissenting voices and is trying to suppress students with a casteist mindset. Now, another student who supported me has been issued a notice and is being mentally harassed. Is this democracy? Is this a university run in the name of Babasaheb?
The truth is that voices against injustice cannot be suppressed with notices. We are on the path of the Constitution, and the struggle will continue.” Meanwhile, the matter has also taken a political turn. Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad has openly spoken out in support of Kannaujiya.
He said, “Despite the ongoing peaceful protest against the fabricated and false charges of indiscipline leveled against a Dalit research scholar at BBAU (Central University) and the unjust expulsion based on them, the silence of the university administration and the Sanghi-minded Vice Chancellor is a matter of concern.
Such silence is not only unethical but also raises serious questions about the democratic and constitutional dignity of a central university. This struggle is not just that of a student, but a struggle to protect identity, restore dignity, safeguard constitutional values, and save the democratic soul of BBAU (Central University). We clarify: “Atrocities on Dalit Research Scholar – Now the country will not tolerate it.”
Swami Prasad Maurya, president of his Janata Party, wrote in a post: “Basant Kumar Kanojia, a Dalit research student at Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University, Lucknow, was expelled on false charges of indiscipline, without any evidence or hearing his side of the story.
While the true facts could have been ascertained by reviewing the CCTV footage installed on the university campus, the university administration, afflicted with a casteist mindset, has committed a despicable act of dictatorship and discrimination, which I strongly condemn.
Similar discrimination against Dalits, tribals, and backward classes has been perpetrated in the past, sometimes by beheading Shamvuk and sometimes by cutting off Eklavya’s thumb. It is a matter of concern that people with Manuwadi thinking are still doing this, which is unfortunate.”
Geetha Sunil Pillai
Courtesy: Hindi News