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Vande Mataram, Banda Bahadur: Dyal Singh College’s long and uneasy battle over a name change

The proposed renaming, after Banda Singh Bahadur, was announced by Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh in a speech last December.

5 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 14, 2026 10:26 AM IST

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The staff association has now cited that precedent. It demanded that the proposal sent by the Governing Body on December 5 be withdrawn, an emergency meeting of the Staff Council be convened, and the administration place all legal documents including land and transfer agreements, in the public domain.

Delhi University is considering renaming Dyal Singh (Evening) College after Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur, a move that has triggered sharp opposition from the college’s staff association, The Indian Express has learnt.

Faculty members The Indian Express spoke to said they learnt of the proposed renaming after it was publicly announced by Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh last month.

Speaking about the historical legacy of Banda Singh Bahadur, V-C Singh had said in his speech on the occasion of Vir Bal Diwas on December 26: “… Today, as Banda Singh Bahadur is being spoken about, although the decision is to be finalised… we wish to name Dyal Singh Evening College after Banda Singh Bahadur.”

Both the Dyal Singh (Morning) and Evening colleges run from the same building, even after the evening college became a day college in 2017. At the time, previous attempts at renaming the college also faced opposition.

Currently, the faculty’s objections were formalised in a unanimous resolution adopted by the college staff association at an emergent meeting on January 8. According to the resolution, “the Administration, through the Principal’s Office, initiated the process of changing the college name, as announced by the [V-C]… This action was taken without prior consultation with the staff council or other stakeholders [teaching staff, non-teaching staff, and students].”

“According to the agreement between the Dyal Singh College Trust and University of Delhi, a name change is not permitted. Any such change may result in serious consequences, including bifurcation, establishment of a separate governing body, and possible relocation of the college,” it added.

The Indian Express reached out to Principal Bhawna Pandey and V-C Singh over calls and messages but received no response.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Registrar Vikas Gupta said, “The matter shall be placed before the Executive Council…” Stating that both Dyal Singh Morning and Evening colleges will function from the same building, Gupta added, “… It [name change] was done earlier with regard to Deshbandhu and Ram Lal Anand colleges… They were both Morning and Evening.”

“We shouldn’t have two colleges with the same name running as Day Colleges,” he said.

At the centre of the dispute is Clause 12 of the transfer deed dated June 22, 1978, through which Dyal Singh College was taken over by DU. The clause reads: “It has been decided by the university that the college, after its takeover… will continue to be known as Dyal Singh College.”

In a letter sent to the V-C, members of the Executive Council, DU Teachers’ Association, college staff association underlined that any violation of this clause could lead to withdrawal of land rights “thereby compelling the college to relocate from its present premises”. It added that stakeholders “strongly oppose any such move.”

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“We have learnt from our fellow faculty members who were part of the [college’s] Governing Body that on December 5, a proposal for change of names was discussed… We also learnt two names were proposed, Banda Singh Bahadur and Majithia college (After Dyal Singh’s last name)…,” said a faculty member.

Explained

What's in a name

-In 2013, Ram Lal Anand Evening College was renamed Aryabhatta College after clearance from DU’s Executive Council. -In 2010, Deshbandhu Evening College was renamed Ramanujan College.

According to its official website, Dyal Singh (Evening) College traces its origins to Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a 19th-century philanthropist and nationalist who “lent support to all, irrespective of caste and creed,” while keeping his charities private. He served as Chairman of the Board of Punjab National Bank, India’s first indigenous bank, and founded The Tribune newspaper.

The college began functioning in 1959, became part of DU in 1978, and turned co-educational in 1994-95.

Renaming bid that failed earlier

In 2017, when Dyal Singh (Evening) College was first cleared to become a full-fledged morning college, the Governing Body the same year had resolved it would be renamed ‘Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya’.

That proposal did not go down well.

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Manjinder Singh Sirsa, who was the Rajouri Garden MLA at the time and was part of the Shiromani Akali Dal, filed a police complaint and argued that the land on which the college stands belongs to the Dyal Singh Majithia Trust and cannot be used by an institution bearing a different name.

The proposal was eventually dropped.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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