At least 14 students of Jamia Millia Islamia were reportedly detained by Delhi Police on Thursday. Apart from this, the university administration has suspended many students and banned them from entering the campus, said student organisations.
The students were protesting against the university’s disciplinary action against two PhD scholars. Along with this, they were sitting on an indefinite sit-in protest in the campus from February 10, regarding other demands.
The students alleged the university administration did not feel the need to talk to them and directly took police and suspension action.
The Delhi Police detained the students in the wee hours of Thursday, February 13, according to some students. It is alleged that the university administration itself “handed over these students to Delhi Police”. It is not yet known where the police have kept the detained students. There are many female students among those detained.
Student organisations have condemned this action of the university administration and Delhi Police, terming it illegal and suppression of student rights.
The students on indefinite dharna since February 10, had six key demands:
— That the decision of the disciplinary committee meeting against PhD students Saurabh and Jyoti should be cancelled.
— All show cause notices issued after students raised their voice should be withdrawn.
— The office memoranda issued on August 29, 2022 and November 29, 2024 should be cancelled.
— All types of repressive action being taken against students for raising their voice should be stopped.
— The notice on punishing students for putting up posters and making graffiti on the walls of Jamia should be cancelled.
— No more show-cause notices should be sent to students for assembling and protesting in violation of their fundamental rights – freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
The students said they made continuous efforts for a dialogue with the university administration which showed no interest in it, forcing them to start a dharna in the campus. The protest was completely peaceful, they said.
The Students Federation of India (SFI) in an X post, along with the video of the incident, said: “Delhi police crackdown at JMI in the middle of the night. Peacefully protesting students in JMI are brutally detained by the Delhi police. Forced out of the campus by JMI proctorial staff. Detained and taken to unknown location.”
The dharna was led by many Left and other student organisations, including All India Students Association (AISA), Dayar-e-Shauq Student Cadre (DISC), Student Federation of India (SFI) and All India Revolutionary Students Organization (AIRSO).
It’s a shame, students r being assaulted by guards at JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA. Guards & staff R terribly impertinent. If students at a central university are being denied d basic human rights, where can they expect to be treated with dignity? @ugc_india @TheLallantop pic.twitter.com/qhkBzaNzif
— common man (@just_mdalikhan) February 11, 2025
The Jamia administration, however, claimed in an X post by news agency ANI, that the students “violated” college discipline, “spoiled” the atmosphere, “stopped” students from going to class, and “vandalised” university property.
Incidentally, the PhD students against whom the disciplinary action was taken, are alleged to have organised a demonstration in 2024, which was marked as Resistance Day to commemorate the 2019 anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests across the country.
Recall that on December 15, 2019, the Delhi Police was accused of entering the university campus and carrying out a brutal lathicharge on students inside the library. When the CCTV footage of this incident went viral, there was anger among the people about this incident and protests took place across the country.
This year, the protesting students were demanding withdrawal of action against the PhD students. Students said the meeting of the disciplinary committee had been scheduled on February 25, but the university administration had not yet responded to their demands.
In another incident, on Tuesday, February 11, AISA national president Neha was allegedly forcibly thrown out of the campus by the Jamia administration. Neha had come to Jamia in support of the demands of the students.
In a press statement, SFI Jamia Millia Islamia has condemned the action of the university administration and the “arbitrary” suspension of Jamia students.
According to SFI, on February 12, 2025, midnight, SFI Delhi state committee member and SFI Jamia unit president Sakhi and other student activists received a letter.
It said the students were protesting against the show-cause notice and an undemocratic office memorandum (F. No. 4/RO/(Estt.-T)/2022) issued by the Jamia administration on Monday, February 10, 2025, that called for imposing ‘fines, campus restrictions, expulsion and rustication’ on the protesting students.
More than 20 Jamia Millia Islamia students detained early morning; their whereabouts remain unknown. AISA demands immediate release & transparency. Stand against illegal detention! pic.twitter.com/0oDW93qmPk
— AISA (@AISA_tweets) February 13, 2025
“This arbitrary and vaguely worded “suspension letter” sent to the students is a clear evidence of the baseless allegations and repressive actions being taken against the students by the present administration of Jamia Millia Islamia,” the SFI said.
SFI said that on August 29, 2022, the Jamia administration issued an office memorandum (F. No. 4/RO/(Estt.-T)/2022) stating that prior permission would be required for any gathering of more than five students on the campus.
“After this order came into effect, it continued to operate as a restriction similar to Section 144, giving the administration the power to question and control any group of more than five students,” it said, adding that since then, the administration has taken strict action even when students raised basic demands like clean food, clean water, better toilet facilities and hostel facilities.
The SFI alleged that this order has been used to intimidate students and suppress any voice of protest. “Even educational and cultural activities like book discussions, seminars, quizzes, debate competitions and poetry recitations have been targeted by the administration,” it added.
It said the irony was that when people associated with RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and its affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad or ABVP had infiltrated the campus and insulted teachers and threatened students, the administration did not follow any rules.
Jamia Admin Action: Some Questions
SFI said that Jamia, a Central university, had “stooped” to such an extent that it was issuing such suspension letters only to suppress the voice of dissent of students.
“Today, through this statement, we (SFI) give a show-cause notice to the Jamia administration asking them to explain why they took the decision to suspend student Sakhi?”
“Is it a crime for women to demand clean toilets? Is it wrong to ask for clean food and drinking water in the canteen? Is it inappropriate to organise study groups to remember freedom fighters? Or is merely being a student of Jamia Millia Islamia become a crime?”, it said.
Repression of Students; No Student Union
SFI noted that in the past two decades, the Jamia administration had dissolved the student union and had not allowed student council elections to be held till now. “Without a student union, students are forced to stage protests to convey their basic demands to the university authorities,” it added.
It alleged that Jamia Millia Islamia, once a prestigious university, “has now become a prison, where students have no rights and the arbitrariness of the administration is paramount. We condemn the transformation of this place of education into a prison! And demand withdrawal of the suspension of the students.”
Student organisation AISA has also lodged a strong protest against the detention of students and the suspensions. In a statement, AISA said that “more than 20 students of Jamia Millia Islamia were detained early in the morning; their whereabouts are still unknown.”. It demanded the immediate release of students and transparency, and called upon all students to stand against “illegal detention”.
This report was originally published in NewsClick and can be read here.
