Hyderabad: The Osmania University (OU) in Hyderabad has been witnessing intense protests over the past two days near its administrative building against several issues, including the immediate implementation of the newly introduced University Grants Commission (UGC) Equity Regulation, incomplete syllabus, the lack of hostel amenities, alleged unfair treatment by Director and Chief Warden Professor Kalyani Laxmi and parents being denied access to the hostel premises.
On Friday, February 13, the university announced that the postgraduate first-year semester examinations have been postponed to March. The revised timetable would be announced shortly, a notice by the controller of examinations stated.
OU students demand hostel director’s suspension
At 9 pm on Thursday, February 12, female students staged a sit-in in front of the Arts College against Professor Laxmi, alleging she had been unresponsive to multiple representations submitted by them.
Speaking to the media, one female student said, “The hostel fails to provide basic facilities. Neither the food nor the amenities are proper. The street lights are not functioning. When our parents visit us, no separate accommodations or rooms are provided. Where will they go? Over the last two months, we have submitted several representations to the Director, but she acted indifferently. She casually said, ‘Go, complain to whomever you want.’ We demand her immediate suspension.”
Another female student said that the authorities threatened them with police action if they did not call off their protest. “They said if we did not disperse, they would call the police and we would be dragged out. Who talks like this?” asked the student.
“Apart from the Dean, neither Director Laxmi nor the Vice-Chancellor held talks with us,” the student alleged.
The protestors were joined by 50 male students who came to support them.
FIR against OU male students
Based on a complaint from Imam Khan, the Chief Secretary Officer of Osmania University, the OU City Police lodged first information reports (FIR) against 10 male students under sections 126 (security for keeping peace in other cases), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 292 (punishment for public nuisance in case otherwise provided for) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Cases were registered against Saidulu, Sridhar, Asif, Srikanth, Vinod Naik, Sreekar, Ratna Shekar Reddy, Ramakrishna, Sunil and Srujan.
Torch rally for UGC equity regulations
The Osmania University campus also saw a torch rally by the All-India OBC Students Association, demanding the immediate implementation of the newly introduced UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026.
The rally was held on Friday.
Association leader Kiran Kumar told The Hindu that the regulations were brought in to address caste discrimination in higher educational institutions. “If this is delayed, it weakens constitutional values and social justice,” he said.
The association alleged that certain groups from the dominant castes were attempting to mislead the Supreme Court and stall progressive reforms. State general secretary Nookala Madhu Yadav said, “There have been several instances of caste discrimination in the OU campus. We urgently demand the new rules be implemented.”
On January 13, the Union government notified new UGC regulations mandating all higher education institutions to form equity committees, centres and squads to look into discrimination complaints and promote equity.
The members must belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), persons with disabilities (PwD) and women, with no mention of general category persons in the squads. However, the rules sparked widespread criticism from general category students who argue that the framework could lead to discrimination against them.
