When Zubeen Garg died in Singapore following an accident, the entire state of Assam went into mourning. The untimely death of Assam’s beloved singer brought the state to a standstill. Every person seemed to carry a fragment of grief in their heart. Everyone wept, shopkeepers voluntarily closed their stores for the following days, and colleges and universities across Assam offered prayers in memory of the singing icon. Yet Tezpur University, a Central University located in Tezpur, remained an exception.
Not only did the University initially refuse to pay public homage to the singer, a gesture that contrasted sharply with the sentiments of the students, but the Vice-Chancellor of the University also rebuked the students, telling them “not to make things funny” when they went ahead to show their tribute.
This, combined with the University’s long-standing attitude toward its students, triggered a row on campus. Though it began with emotion and grief, the situation quickly escalated into a broader conflict.
The escalation of student unrest in the following days stemmed not only from the University’s indifference toward their singing icon, but also from deeper frustrations about how students felt their conscience was subjugated and their voices suppressed by the administration. Ironically, a University born out of the Assam Agitation does not have any students’ union body to represent students and speak for them when needed.
Faculty and students were subjected to relentless pressure and restrictions on their attempts to organize or even hold discussions, facing limitations on their right to assemble, express dissent, or seek accountability. Small grievances were frequently met with warnings rather than dialogue.
Dissent was often crushed with force. In this context, the Vice-Chancellor’s words about Zubeen Garg became only a catalyst. What started as mourning evolved into a broader protest over representation, dignity, and freedom on campus.
The students of the University now demand a fully functional independent students’ union body, along with the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor, whom they perceive as the source of the University’s incessant control and increasing surveillance over its students.
Moreover, while showing solidarity with the students, Samaresh Barman, a Public Relations Officer at the University, resigned from his post, citing that he could not be part of a system that stifles voices and fails to serve the interests of the University and its students.
Against the backdrop of a nationwide crackdown on dissent and opposing views, the recent student uprising at Tezpur University remains significant. Hence, this article attempts to explore why students’ unity and students’ unions still matter and why they are of utmost importance in the context of the right to dissent and the right to a life with dignity.
Student unions matter because they provide a medium for channelling the raw energy of protest into a structured platform for dialogue and accountability. In the absence of an organized union body, students’ grievances remain scattered, and individuals must face power asymmetries alone.
This makes dissent dangerous and more vulnerable to suppression. A union is not simply an organizational structure, but as a ‘recognized’ body, it allows students to negotiate with the administration instead of pleading to be heard. At Tezpur University, without an independent students’ union, even minor disagreements are treated as disruptions rather than as part of normal university life.
From security guards pushing hostel boarders to return indoors after supper, to attempts at disciplining students over minor social media posts, to the Vice-Chancellor concentrating enormous power in his hands, both faculty and students saw their voices suppressed. Because there are no provisions for a students’ body in the University, this suppression only intensified. Students were left with two choices: either remain silent or resort to informal or ad hoc protests.
In this case, the presence of a students’ union could institutionalize dissent as a right, not as a threat. Having a recognized voice establishes students as full stakeholders in the university system, rather than being mere recipients of dictates.
It ensures that their concerns—even affective ones—are legitimized and treated as crucial factors in decision-making. Thus, union bodies are instrumental in demonstrating democracy at the campus level.
This is why uprisings, even if initially driven by emotion, are instrumental in shaping the collective behaviour of the protest itself. They convert private pain into public expression, showing how institutional power shapes daily life.
The right to dissent is indeed the right to live, and it is so because both are based on recognition—of one’s feelings, needs, and autonomy as having validity.
At Tezpur University, what had started out as grieving for their beloved icon became calls for representation and freedom because students felt their dignity was being corroded.
However, what is happening at Tezpur University is not an isolated event. Across the country, campuses have become key sites where issues of dissent, autonomy, and dignity are negotiated and fought over.
In recent years, students at many universities have encountered crackdowns on assemblies, heightened surveillance, and repercussions for dissenting speech. These trends reflect a larger national environment in which opposing viewpoints are often depicted as dangerous rather than simply disagreeable.
Tezpur University remains important because of its history. The University was born from the demands of the Assam Agitation, itself a product of collective protest and political aspiration. That this same institution now suppresses student voices shows how vulnerable democratic spaces can become when the power of an institution goes unchecked.
In their call for a union and a stand against authoritarian administration, Tezpur University’s students are not merely standing up for the independence of their own campus, but affirming the right to dissent as an indispensable democratic value everywhere.
In this sense, the movement happening at the University is both local and symbolic. It demonstrates that the right to speak out and the right to a life of dignity must be constantly defended, not just in parliaments or courts, but also inside classrooms, hostels, and public spheres, where democracy is lived and realized.
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