Ashoka University erupted with cries of “Chhatra ekta zindabad!” (student unity long live) and “Scanner wanner nahi chalega!” (Scanners and all will not be accepted) on Thursday as more than 200 students protested against heightened security protocols put in place by the administration at the university in Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Haryana.

Students organised a mass walkout from campus and remained outside Gate 2, until 6am on Thursday, when they were allowed to enter without passing through the newly installed metal detectors and baggage scanners.

The new security measures, outlined in an email sent out by Himanshu Sachdev, vice-president of operations, came into effect on January 17 and involved shifting student movement to Gate 2, mandatory baggage scanning, and the requirement for students to empty their pockets when passing through metal detectors.

“Prohibited items include explosives, narcotics, weapons, alcohol, vape devices, sharp knives, and psychoactive substances (except prescribed medicines with proper documentation),” the directive said.

Many students saw the measures as invasive. The Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) issued a statement on January 18, alleging that the changes were made without prior consultation.

They demanded an immediate rollback and called for student mobilisation.

"Incoming vehicles faced invasive searches, including glove compartments and under-seat spaces. Belongings of taxi drivers and family members were also subject to these scanners on move-in days, something the student body was not informed about," the statement said.

A petition opposing the measures, circulated soon after the announcement, has garnered over 1,100 signatories, including members of faculty.

“We are absolutely determined to make the administration see us as equal stakeholders of this university, to roll back the recently introduced regressive surveillance measures, and to consult democratically with students before implementing any further decisions which will affect any aspect of our lives,” a member of the student government told The Telegraph Online.

Ashoka University vice-chancellor Dr Somak Raychaudhury met four representatives of the student government on January 20 but refused to roll back the measures.

Following three days of protest within campus, students gathered at Gate 2 on Thursday to voice their concerns to the dean of student affairs, the residence life office and the student care office.

The students said that the measures infringed on their privacy and resident rights and also would be ineffective in addressing the root causes of substance abuse on campus.

In a statement to the students, the student government said: “Not a single member of this administration came out to listen to us or even pick up our call.”

A student newspaper, The Edict, reported that the Ashoka University Student Government (AUSG) email ID, the “primary source of communication for the protest” had been temporarily “disabled” during the night of the walkout.

In an email to the student body, the vice-chancellor’s office denied that the administration had disabled the email.

The student government claimed that students protesting against “draconian security measures for over 10 hours in the bitter cold” were denied access to washrooms inside campus until 4am.

“The Ashoka administration clearly does not treat its students with care or respect,” a member of the student government told The Telegraph Online.

“They would much rather subject them to inhumane conditions rather than open negotiations and dialogue about measures that are blatant invasions of privacy. Hundreds and hundreds of students have inevitably united against the authoritarian admin.”

On Friday, parents and some faculty members at the university have stated their solidarity with the students.

“How can you claim to safeguard the well-being of our children/wards when last night, at least 400 of them were left stranded in the cold without so much as a response from a single administrative representative?” wrote a concerned parent.

The Left-wing All India Students' Association issued a statement expressing solidarity with the students, criticising the “surveillance” as a violation of constitutional privacy rights.

"Ashoka University, which prides itself on being a liberal bastion, has unveiled itself as a policed space," it said.

An open meeting will be held on January 27 to “discuss ongoing concerns around student mental health and coping strategies and how they affect campus life, safety and security,” vice-chancellor Raychaudhury announced on Friday afternoon.

“I believe this is the first time Ashoka students have felt like a community more than anything else, as it is impossible to feel it on campus with impossibly hard and long attendance requirements and class hours, unaffordable living conditions, and the general environment of apathy that the admin and other higher-ups of this university push for,” Insha Husain, a councillor with the student government, told The Telegraph Online.

“We have finally come together as one on this tiny campus with one goal, we have finally learnt to have each other's backs and to fight for what is right.”