The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Congress’s student wing, held a day-long fast at Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication in Bhopal, demanding a cow shelter on campus. Students highlighted land allotted in 2017 that remains vacant. NSUI described the demand as humanitarian rather than ideological.
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress party, organized a day-long fast and protest on February 17, 2026, at the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication in Bhopal, demanding the construction of a cow shelter on campus. The event was led by NSUI state secretary Aman Pathan, a sixth-semester BA (Journalism and Communication) student at the university.
Pathan told The Indian Express, “Land was allotted in 2017 for the construction of a gaushala. Our protest was to construct what was promised since that land has been lying vacant for years. If the university can’t build the gaushala, then it should build a sports complex there.” He noted that the protest had the support of senior Congress leaders in the state.
Bhopal North MLA Atif Aqueel spoke to the students via video call, describing the demand as justified and announcing he would donate a cow to the initiative. Former minister P C Sharma extended support, stating that the construction of a cow shelter is not only a matter of faith but also linked to environmental protection, compassion, and social responsibility.
During the protest, Pathan’s health deteriorated, leading to his admission to the university’s Dhanvantari Hospital, where he was stabilized after first aid. University Registrar Dr P Sasikala visited the students and assured a “sensitive dialogue” on the demand. According to NSUI, Sasikala pledged to convey the demands to the management and promised a “positive solution” for the cowshed construction. The university has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The head of the Journalism Department, Dr Rakhi Tiwari, issued a notice to Pathan seeking an explanation for his participation in the demonstration. The notice stated that photographs showed him sitting near the statue of Dada Makhanlal Chaturvedi during the protest and directed him to submit proof of prior permission by 10:30 am on February 17, 2026, for forwarding to the University Disciplinary Committee.
In a statement after the fast, NSUI urged the administration to take an early decision on this “public-interest and humane demand” and initiate the process for constructing a gaushala on campus. Such a call for a cow shelter, typically part of the BJP and its affiliates’ ideological vocabulary, has rarely featured in Congress student wing’s campus politics.