India, July 21 -- Chandigarh

Panjab University's 'Shakti & Srishti' symposium erupted in controversy on Monday as around 40 students under the banner "PU Against Saffronisation" staged a protest, leading to the detention of 20 students by the police.

The demonstration broke out over allegations that the university had reneged on its earlier decision to shift the entire event to Tagore Theatre. The controversy had been brewing all week following student objections to the inclusion of two RSS linked speakers-Vatsalyagram founder Sadhvi Ritambhara and Rashtra Sevika Samiti's Shanta Akka, who delivered keynote addresses on women's roles in character and society building.

While the morning inaugural session pushed forward at the New Convent...