India, Oct. 27 -- Student union elections have returned to the spotlight at universities across India, with students at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jamia Millia Islamia and Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) demanding the restoration of elected representative bodies.

While some universities continue to hold regular elections, others have gone years without polls. In several institutions, elected unions have been replaced by nominated councils or departmental associations. The history of these restrictions differs across universities and states.

At AMU, students began protesting on September 21, demanding the restoration of elections that had not been held since 2018. The agitation intensified after postgraduate student Y...