Members of the All India Democratic Students’ Organization (AIDSO) stage a solidarity demonstration with Tezpur University students’ protest against Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over alleged financial irregularities in Sonitpur district, Assam, on December 15, 2025. | Photo credit: PTI
Teachers, non-teaching staff and students of Tezpur University in north-central Assam observed a nine-hour hunger strike on Monday (December 15, 2025), demanding swift action by the Union Education Ministry against “absconding” Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh.
Central University has been in turmoil since September 22 when Mr. Singh allegedly disrespected Assamese cultural icon Zubeen Garg, who died while swimming off an island in Singapore on September 19. The incident opened the floodgates of allegations of corruption and mismanagement against him, apart from his absence from the campus for 388 days from April 2023.
“Stakeholders of the university observed a fast to demand an immediate response from the Ministry of Education, which has ignored our growing frustration over its continued silence despite persistent agitation and repeated calls for the removal of the vice-chancellor,” the apex body of the agitating university associations said in a statement.
Stakeholders have questioned the ministry’s commitment to addressing the crisis at the university. “The responsibility to restore academic and administrative normalcy rests with the ministry,” they said, demanding a fair and impartial high-level inquiry into Mr. Singh.
Published – 15 Dec 2025 20:32 IST
