The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) is the student wing of the Indian National Congress. It was established on 9 April 1971, founded by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students' Union and the West Bengal Students' Union to form a national students' organisation. Vinod Jakhar is the current National President of NSUI. With 4 million members and a presence in 15,000 colleges across the country, NSUI is the world’s largest progressive student's union.

Membership In order to become a member of NSUI, one must be under 27 years of age, must be a student, must be a citizen of India, must not be part of any other political organization and must not have been convicted of any criminal activity in the past. NSUI categorizes its members into "Primary Members" and "Active Members". One can become member by filling online membership form.

Campaigns

Hum Badlenge Campaign The "Hum Badlenge" Campaign by NSUI was launched in November 2024 under which the organization has invited passionate students to become Campus Ambassadors for their universities. Students can apply online through Hum Badlenge website and this nationwide initiative aims to identify ambassadors in 250+ universities across India.

As part of the campaign, ambassadors will:

Raise important issues on their campuses. Receive training and support from the Congress Party and NSUI.

This program is designed for students who are committed to social justice, secularism, gender equality, and the Nehruvian-Gandhian legacy.

'Burn the chaddi' campaign In June 2022 during the Karnataka textbook controversy the Congress students' wing NSUI (National Students Union of India) protested against the saffronisation of school textbooks. As a symbolic protest they burnt an underwear outside the Home of Education Minister BC Nagesh. They set fire to a pair of khaki shorts similar to the shorts in the uniform of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members.

The BJP complained to the police accusing the NSUI activists of trying to burn the minister's house down. Siddaramaiah said, "During a protest, we symbolically burnt one underwear - just one underwear. But the police and government made it a big issue and said we are trying to burn the house... So let's start a chaddi-burning campaign,". The Congress launched a "burn-the-chaddi" campaign and Siddaramaiah announced that, as a sign of protest against RSS ‘chaddis’ would be burnt.

Achievements Victory in Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) Elections: NSUI won DUSU elections in 2024. Ronak Khatri was elected as the President and Lokesh Choudhary was elected as the Joint Secretary.

Movements Led by NSUI: NSUI has consistently been at the forefront of student movements, addressing critical issues, including:

Paper Leak, Examination Irregularities and Scams: Exposing scams like paper leaks in NEET, UGC NET, UPPCS RO/ARO, UP Police recruitment, and other exams. Fee Hikes: Protesting against arbitrary increases in tuition and examination fees to ensure education remains affordable. Reservation for OBC, SC, and ST Students: Advocating for proper implementation of reservation policies in educational institutions. Women's Safety: Organizing campaigns and protests to demand safer campuses and public spaces for women. Fund Cuts in Scholarships and Education Budgets: Opposing reductions in funding for scholarships and education, ensuring equitable access for students from marginalized communities.

Protests and Movements NEET Protest: In response to alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 exam, members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) protested by storming the National Testing Agency (NTA) office in Delhi, locking the building and demanding the agency's shutdown. The protest was sparked by concerns over paper leaks and the unusual result of 67 students scoring a perfect 720. Following the protest, the Delhi Police filed charges against the National President of NSUI Varun Choudhary and other members. Similar protests were then held in different cities across India. The controversy led to petitions and a Supreme Court ruling for a re-test for over 1,500 students. The Ministry of Education formed a committee to review the exam process, while the CBI investigates the alleged irregularities. On 15 July 2024, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) staged a massive protest in Bhopal against the NEET paper leak, the nursing scam, and the controversial Agnipath scheme.

Parliament March: On 5 December 2024, members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), were stopped by Delhi Police while marching towards Indian Parliament. The protest aimed to highlight critical issues such as unemployment, delays in recruitment, and cuts in student scholarships and demanded fair recruitment processes, transparency in hiring, and the restoration of scholarships, particularly for marginalized communities. The protest condemned government policies that adversely affected students, particularly those from SC, ST, and OBC backgrounds. NSUI President Varun Choudhary and around 100 members were detained by Delhi Police.

National Presidents +S.noPresidentPeriod Home State 1Rangarajan Kumaramangalam19711974Tamil Nadu2Mohan Gopal 19741976Kerala3Geetanjali Maken19761977Delhi4K. K. Sharma19771981Uttar Pradesh5Subhash Chaudhary19811982Haryana6Ramesh Chennithala19821984Kerala7Mukul Wasnik19841986Maharashtra8Manish Tewari19861993Punjab9Saleem Ahmed19931997Karnataka10Alka Lamba19971999Delhi11Meenakshi Natarajan19992003Madhya Pradesh12Ashok Tanwar20032005Haryana13Nadeem Javed20052008Uttar Pradesh14Hibi Eden20082012Kerala15Rohit Chaudhary20122014Delhi16Roji M John20142016Kerala17Amrita Dhawan20162017Delhi18Fairoz Khan20172018Jammu and Kashmir19Neeraj Kundan20192024Jammu and Kashmir20Varun Choudhary20242026Delhi21Vinod Jakhar2026IncumbentRajasthan

Current State Presidents +S.noStatePresident1Andhra PradeshNaga Madhu Yadav2Arunachal PradeshSaruk Yura3AssamKaushik Kashyap 4BiharJaishankar Prasad5ChhattisgarhNeeraj Pandey6GoaNaushad Chowdhari 7Gujarat Narendra Solanki 8HaryanaAvinash Yadav 9Himachal PradeshTony Thakur 10JharkhandBinay Oraon11KarnatakaKirthi Ganesh 12KeralamAloshious Xavier13Madhya PradeshAshutosh Choksey14MaharashtraSagar Salunke 15ManipurJoyson K. H.16MeghalayaMewan P. Pariat17MizoramR. B. Lalmalsawma18NagalandX. Chophika Sumi19OdishaBibhuti Bhushan Mohapatra 20PunjabIsherpreet Singh Sidhu21RajasthanVacant 22SikkimJatin Farswal23Tamil NaduM. Chinnathambi24TelanganaYadavalli Venkata Swamy25TripuraSwarup Kumar Sil26UttarakhandVikas Negi27Uttar PradeshRohit Rana (West)Anas Rahman (Central)Rishabh Pandey (East)28West BengalPriyanka Choudhury29Andaman and Nicobar IslandsM. A. Sajid30Chandigarh31Dadra Nagar Haveli32Daman and Diu33DelhiAshish Lamba 34Jammu and KashmirAjay Lakhotra35Ladakh36LakshadweepAjas Akber Puthiya Illam37MumbaiPradyum Yadav38PuducherryDr. Harsha Vardhan S.

Controversies In November 2013, two members of the NSUI were injured by police as they attempted to submit a memorandum to the district magistrate. In late November, the NSUI filed a complain with the police against Madhu Kishwar, a writer who ousted the journalist that had been allegedly sexually assaulted by Tarun Tejpal.

See also All India Students' Federation Students' Federation of India All India Students' Association Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad Indian National Congress Indian Youth Congress Lists of political parties

References

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