On March 25, 2026, police arrested several student activists from the University of Hyderabad ahead of a scheduled protest led by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

SFI had planned the demonstration during the ongoing Telangana state budget session to demand increased educational funding. Early that morning, Telangana police entered student hostels to detain SFI members. Three students were allegedly placed under de facto house arrest and prevented from leaving their rooms. SFI released a statement noting that these individuals had not officially declared their participation in the protest, making the preemptive lockdown of their rooms unwarranted.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the arbitrary detention of students in an apparent effort to restrict or retaliate against their nonviolence exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly – conduct that is expressly protected by international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party. State authorities have an obligation to refrain from restricting or retaliating against the nonviolent and responsible exercise of such rights. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, detentions aimed at restricting students’ expressive activities undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.siasat.com/police-arrests-uoh-student-activists-from-hostels-ahead-of-protest-3440411/
https://telanganatoday.com/police-detain-uoh-students-ahead-of-sfis-chalo-assembly-call
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/police-place-3-uoh-students-on-house-arrest-in-campus-hostel-ahead-of-protest/articleshow/129809664.cms
https://education.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/higher-education/police-place-3-university-of-hyderabad-students-on-house-arrest-in-campus-hostel-ahead-of-protest/129820671