The disruption erupted at the Mother Veronica Auditorium on the Patna Women’s College campus, where the ceremony was being held on August 8. Students objected to the university’s decision to invite only PhD scholars and gold-medal winners onto the stage to receive their degrees. Other graduates demanded similar treatment and began raising slogans during the proceedings.
University officials and police personnel attempted to calm the protesting students, but the commotion continued. Hasnain, who was attending the ceremony as chief guest in his capacity as Governor-cum-Chancellor, eventually left the auditorium without making his convocation address.
The ceremony nevertheless saw degrees formally conferred on 1,305 students, including 155 PhD scholars. Thirty-eight postgraduate toppers from the 2023-25 academic session received gold medals. Women accounted for 28 of the medal winners, while 10 were men, reflecting a strong showing by female students among the university’s highest academic achievers.
The dispute centred on the ceremonial procedure rather than the award of degrees themselves. Students who were not among the doctoral scholars or medal recipients argued that graduating candidates should be called to the stage individually instead of receiving their qualifications under the broader arrangements made by the university.
As slogans grew louder, the formal character of the ceremony was interrupted despite efforts by organisers to continue the programme. The incident placed university administrators in the difficult position of balancing time and logistical constraints associated with a large convocation against students’ expectations of individual recognition at one of the most significant ceremonies of their academic careers.
Professor Poonam Tandon, Vice-Chancellor of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, attended as the guest of honour and delivered the convocation address to the graduating students after Hasnain’s departure. Doctoral scholars and medal winners continued to receive their awards on the stage as planned.
The protest was particularly striking because the ceremony had begun with the conventional emphasis on academic achievement. Hasnain participated in the programme and was photographed presenting certificates and interacting with students before the disturbance escalated.
Patna University, one of Bihar’s oldest centres of higher education, has faced repeated challenges involving campus administration, student demands and discipline. The latest confrontation, however, arose from the organisation of the convocation itself and the distinction made between categories of graduating students during the ceremonial presentation.
The episode also highlighted the symbolic importance students attach to walking onto a convocation stage. While degrees can be formally conferred without each graduate being individually presented before the chief guest, the stage ceremony carries considerable personal significance for students and their families. The decision to limit that privilege to doctoral candidates and medal winners became the immediate trigger for Saturday’s protest.
Hasnain took charge as Bihar’s 43rd Governor in March 2026 and, as Governor, serves as Chancellor of state universities, giving Raj Bhavan a significant role in the administration and oversight of higher education institutions. His departure from the auditorium therefore transformed what began as a dispute over degree distribution into a prominent confrontation involving the university’s highest constitutional authority.
There was no indication that the protest affected the validity of the degrees conferred during the ceremony. The university completed the academic component of the convocation and the graduating candidates remained entitled to their qualifications despite the interruption.
The presence of 155 doctoral scholars among the 1,305 degree recipients underlined the scale of the ceremony. The 38 postgraduate gold medals covered disciplines across humanities, social sciences, sciences, commerce, management, law and professional programmes, with female students securing nearly three-quarters of the honours.
(IPA Service)
