On August 15, 2025, Indian police clashed with students at Rajasthan University during protests demanding the resumption of student union elections, which had been suspended across the state since 2023.

On August 12, 2025, student leader Shubham Rewar began a hunger strike, camping out near the campus gates to demand the reinstatement of elections. After three days, police officers attempted to forcibly remove Rewar, alleging he was protesting without official permission. Rewar maintained it was his right to demonstrate peacefully on campus because the university continued to collect election fees without actually holding elections. Video footage shows security forces dragging Rewar from the site and forcing him into an emergency vehicle.

The clash followed a large-scale protest in Rajasthan’s capital Jaipur by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), which issued similar demands for the resumption of the electoral process (see report).

Scholars at Risk is concerned about police officers forcibly removing a student peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression. State authorities must refrain from the disproportionate use of force and endangerment of civilians and must respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. Such actions, beyond harming the immediate victims, have a chilling effect on academic freedom.

Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/rajasthan/jaipur/news/police-clash-with-ru-students-over-election-demand-hunger-strike-leader-removed-ahead-of-deputy-cms-august-15-visit-135678113.html
https://firstindia.co.in/news/jaipur/student-leaders-go-on-indefinite-hunger-strike-over-ru-elections