Photo: Wiki1957BOY / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Jamia Millia Islamia on Saturday (October 24) shifted classes for all its courses online with immediate effect and until further notice, as a student agitation demanding the revival of the university’s students’ union entered its 13th day with no settlement in sight.
A notice signed by registrar Mohd Mahtab Alam Rizvi described the move as a precaution taken “in view of the ongoing situation” to protect the safety and security of “bonafide students” on campus. Teachers were asked to arrange online lessons and share study material with students.
A tense morning on campus
Five students have been on an indefinite hunger strike since the protest began on October 12. Around 11 am on Saturday, a group of university officials, including the registrar and several professors, met them and urged them to end the fast, citing concern for their health and pointing to a committee set up to look into their demands.
Protesters say the talks broke down and turned into a confrontation. They allege that security staff dismantled their tents at the protest site near the Gulistan-e-Ghalib garden and tried to take the hunger strikers to hospital against their will. Students then moved the five into a department building and stayed with them to keep guards away. By noon the university gates had been shut, and students gathered outside said they were not being allowed in. The online-classes notice followed in the afternoon.
They have shifted classes online so that students remain confined to their rooms.
Saurabh Tripathi, AISA secretary at Jamia
Some students also objected to the phrase “bonafide students” in the notice, saying it was meant to divide those taking part in the agitation.
What the students want, and the university’s reply
The protesters are seeking:
- an official notification with a schedule for elections to the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU)
- withdrawal of disciplinary action and show-cause notices against protesting students
- removal of the Chief Proctor and the university’s security advisor
Speaking to reporters, Rizvi said a committee, which would include student representatives, had been formed to draft a new union constitution, and that elections would be announced as soon as the draft was submitted. He said the disciplinary cases would be reviewed by the disciplinary committee and students found innocent would be reinstated. He also alleged that outsiders had entered the campus through a back gate and said the university had filed a police complaint over unauthorised entry.
The registrar also condemned “Free Kashmir” graffiti that appeared on campus walls this week, which has drawn political reactions and was later wiped off. Protest leaders have denied any role in it and asked the administration to check CCTV footage to find out who was responsible.
Why it matters
Jamia has not held students’ union elections since 2005, and the union was dissolved in 2006. The university has said polls were stopped after repeated violent clashes, attacks on teachers and disruption of classes. The demand has resurfaced from time to time, and this round comes weeks after Aligarh Muslim University announced union elections for November following a long protest there.
What happens next
Students say the hunger strike will continue until a firm election date is announced, while talks with the administration’s committee are still under way. Classes will remain online until the university issues a fresh notice.
