Over the last week, tensions across Delhi’s premier universities have intensified in the wake of rustications, FIRs, protest bans, and campus clashes. Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Aditi Mishra was among the 14 students arrested for a protest demonstration this week. She is also among the five students rusticated for two semesters for a last year’s protest against surveillance in the central library.

Ms. Mishra said curbs on dissent have increased over the years. “All of it is linked to our movement in solidarity with the UGC guidelines and our demand for the Rohith Vemula Act to rid educational institutions of caste discrimination,” she said.