In Clampdown on Delhi University Students, A Failure of Leadership
19 February 2026 | The Indian Express
The word university comes from the Latin word universitas, meaning “the whole”. It is a reminder that higher education is meant to be capacious enough to hold friction, dissent and discomfort. Unfortunately, this understanding of the university’s space and role seems to be conspicuous by its absence in the administration of Delhi University. On Tuesday, it barred gatherings, protests and rallies on campus for a month, citing law-and-order concerns in the aftermath of clashes linked to the UGC Regulations against discrimination. The blunt instrument of a ban, the impulse to prohibit, speaks of a failure of leadership in one of the country’s premier institutions — according to the 2025 National Institutional Ranking Framework, DU ranks fifth among Indian universities…