What’s in a name? Well a lot, if you ask teachers and staffers at Panjab University, Chandigarh, who found themselves flooded with calls and messages from well-wishers as soon as the controversy over the “video leak” incident at Chandigarh University hit headlines.
Panjab University, as people in the region know, is a public university based in the Union Territory of Chandigarh while Chandigarh University, is a private university, located 25 kilometres away in Gharuan, Kharar tehsil of Mohali district.
However, many often get confused between the two universities, a situation that resurfaced after Sunday’s incident. It even prompted some students to take to the social media to clarify the difference between the two varsities.
Even Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher reacted to the matter as she tweeted, “I am morally shaken by the ghastly incident at Chandigarh University. The name of my city is being tarnished due to this institute. I want to clarify that it is based in Kharar, Punjab. My heartfelt concern goes out to the girls and their parents who are victims of this incident.”
PU had, a few times in the past, tried to distance itself from CU and even added a disclaimer to its website in 2020, stating that it is “not CU”.
The issue was even raised during a PU senate meeting in 2018, following which the varsity constituted a nine-member panel to look into the confusion among students.
PU senator and former president of Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA), Rajat Sandhir, said, “Unfortunately students from far-off areas end up at CU because of the confusion. After Sunday’s incident, many well-wishers called the faculty of PU to know about the incident.”
PUTA president Mritunjay Kumar said, “There is a lot of confusion between CU and PU and since the name ‘Chandigarh’ is part of the institution’s name. Chandigarh administration should take up the matter with the Punjab government.”
Over the years, CU has been continuously making its name in various rankings.
In an earlier statement, the official spokesperson of Chandigarh University, Prabhdeep Singh had said, “On every platform, we have clearly mentioned that we are a private university and are located in Mohali. Even the initials of Panjab University and Chandigarh University are not the same. We fail to understand where the confusion lies.”
However, no fresh comments were obtained with regards to the matter.
