Chandigarh, November 15: Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh has come out in support of Harmanpreet Kaur, the Panjab University student whose calm but sharp confrontation with Chandigarh Police during the recent protests turned her into the unlikely face of the agitation. At his Aura Tour 2025 show in Australia, Dosanjh briefly stopped his performance to acknowledge her “guts” and asked the crowd to applaud her.
“You must have seen the video of the girl from Panjab University saying, ‘Let go of my arms,’” he told the audience. “Our message is that Panjab University belongs to Punjab, and whatever belongs to Punjab should go to Punjab. The girls who showed such courage deserve a big round of applause.”
The incident involving Harmanpreet unfolded against the backdrop of sustained tensions on campus after the Centre announced — and later withdrew — a notification dissolving the Senate and Syndicate. Students have continued to press for the long-delayed Senate elections, arguing that the university’s democratic structure cannot remain suspended.
On November 10, the protests intensified, with students joined by political leaders and farmer groups in a push for restoration of the elected bodies. The university shut down for the day, locking gates early to prevent demonstrators from gathering, as police were stationed around the campus.
It was in those early-morning hours that Harmanpreet, a second-year Anthropology student from Sri Anandpur Sahib, reached her hostel and found the gates locked. When she tried to enter through one gate, a policewoman stopped her and grabbed her arm. In the video that went viral, she can be heard saying, “Baanh chhaddo… je mere ’te pai gayi fer apna hisaab la li… ladte loki zindabad.”
She later explained that she had simply asked to be let inside. “None of the gates were open. A policewoman held my arm. I only asked her to let me go. Later, they allowed me to enter,” she said.
The clip rapidly spread across social media, drawing praise from students and activists who viewed her calm resistance as a reflection of the frustration building among the youth over the prolonged delay in elections and governance issues at the university.
