The National Students Union of India (NSUI) is the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC or Congress) . It was established on April 9, 1971, by Indira Gandhi after merging the Kerala Students Union and the West Bengal State Chhatra Parishad to form a national students organization. NSUI aims to mold future leaders for the country and defines its ideology as centric to Indian Nationalism, Secularism, and Social Democracy. 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". An aspiring member who applies for NSUI Membership becomes a Primary member after the organizations scrutiny process. NSUI has been involved in various campaigns such as the "Burn the chaddi" campaign. In recent years, some NSUI members have been involved in controversies such as submitting fake documents to secure admission in the Department of Buddhist Studies and charges of sexual harassment.