Members of All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) stage a demonstration in solidarity with the Tezpur University students’ protest against Vice-Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh over alleged financial irregularities, in Sonitpur district, Assam, December 15, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Teachers, non-teaching staff, and students of north-central Assam’s Tezpur University observed a nine-hour hunger strike on Monday (December 15, 2025), demanding swift action from the Union Ministry of Education against “absconding” Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh.
The 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 accusations of corruption and mismanagement against him, apart from his absence from the campus for 388 days between April 2023 and September 2025.
“The stakeholders of the University observed a fast to demand an immediate response from the Ministry of Education, which has been ignoring our growing frustration over its continued silence despite the sustained agitation and repeated appeals for the ouster of the Vice-Chancellor,” a statement from the apex body of the agitating University associations said.
The stakeholders questioned the Ministry’s commitment to resolving the crisis in the university. “The responsibility of restoring academic and administrative normalcy lies with the Ministry,” they said, demanding a fair and unbiased high-level inquiry against Mr. Singh.
Published – December 15, 2025 08:32 pm IST
