New Delhi: At least five Jamia Millia Islamia students protesting against the university administration were released from detention on Thursday afternoon, hours after they were picked up by the police from campus. In the early hours of February 13, Delhi Police detained multiple students from the varsity who had been participating in a sit-in protest at the central canteen area of the campus since February 10.
In the early hours of February 13, Delhi Police detained multiple students from the varsity who had been participating in a sit-in protest at the central canteen area of the campus since February 10.
Students have been protesting to seek the withdrawal of the Disciplinary Committee notices as well as the revocation of the office memorandums which prohibit graffiti and posters on the university walls as well as a protest without prior permission of the proctor. The protesting students were thrown out of the campus by the varsity guards following which the police detained them.
Two PhD scholars of the varsity’s Department of Hindi – Jyoti and Saurabh – were issued a show-cause notice for allegedly organising a gathering to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2019 anti-CAA and proposed NRC protest. The University issued a circular on December 15 2024 stating that all canteens and libraries would be closed on the same day for maintenance purposes. Jamia administration had earlier issued office memorandums restricting students from protesting without prior permission of the proctor as well as postering and graffiti on the university walls.
Jamia students observe December 15 as “Jamia Resistance Day” every year marking the anniversary of the 2019 anti-CAA protests. Students commemorate the alleged violence of the Delhi Police when they baton-charged students in the Central Library of the University.
Niranjan, a BA-LLB student of the University associated with the All India Revolutionary Students Organisation (AIRSO), who was given a show-cause notice earlier received a notice from the Disciplinary Committee at around 10:30 pm on February 12. He was also suspended by the department later the same day. He alleged that more than 10 students were given a suspension and campus ban notice along with threats of getting rusticated by the varsity. He said, ‘The university proctor came but did not talk to us and went away mid-way.‘
What unfolded in Jamia?
‘At 5:30 in the morning, security guards came and captured the students and threw them out of the campus following which the police detained more than 14 students and took them to different police stations,’ he said. He alleged, ‘During the three-day protest, the central canteen was closed and electricity was cut off around the area. Jamia administration also shut the toilets. It was a very unsafe situation for the women students.‘
He alleged, ‘During the three-day protest, the central canteen was closed and electricity was cut off around the area. Jamia administration also shut the toilets. It was a very unsafe situation for the women students.‘
He emphasised, ‘We will not be silenced by the administration. We are students and we will fight for our rights.’
Anjali, an MA second-year student and an All India Students’ Association(AISA) activist, alleged that around 20 students were illegally detained by Delhi Police. She added, ‘Initially, the police at Kalkaji police station agreed to let us meet with the detainees but they later denied that no one was there after a call.‘
Jamia admin has issued a statement on February 13 that the students have been evicted and appealed to the Delhi Police to maintain the law and order of the university. The statement read that the students had disrupted the smooth functioning of the classes as well as damaged varsity properties.
She claimed, ‘During the protest on February 11, a friend who joined us during the protest was dragged by the Proctorial team along with 30 lathi-charged guards. They took her to the Jamia Nagar Police Station. We were always intimidated and were always in fear that anything could happen to us inside the campus.‘ She also added that on February 12, the administration had given an advisory to the protestors to leave the site failing which strict action would be initiated against them.
She stated that the increase in the number of security personnel around the campus is also a way of intimidating the students. She mentioned, ‘While students are detained, the campus has seen numerous police, CRPF and Riot Control Forces stationed outside the campus gates on February 13. Jamia admin has done this earlier during the CAA-NRC protests of 2019 and they did it again today.’ She claimed that the administration took this step as they knew that the protest would become massive and they would have to bow down and accept the students’ demands.
She claimed that the administration took this step as they knew that the protest would become massive and they would have to bow down and accept the students’ demands.
AISA Central Council President Neha said that around five students had been detained by the police at Badarpur Police Station. ‘At about 2:30, four students – Saurabh, Jyoti, Habeeba and Gayatri were released from Badarpur Police Station,’ added Neha
Nawab, a student of the Hindi department, claimed, ‘We are protesting according to the constitutional guarantee of the right to free speech and expression but the vice-chancellor is issuing notices against any political activities on the university premises. When we raise our voices against the improper sanitation, unclean toilets and improper functioning of libraries, we are given show-cause notices and are threatened with expulsion,’ he alleged.
He mentioned, ‘If the students union is revived on campus, only then will we be able to fulfil our demands because there will be pressure on the administration and they won’t take any arbitrary actions.’ Jamia has not had a student union, unlike other central universities in Delhi, since 2006.
Neither the Jamia administration nor Delhi Police could be reached out for comments at the time of publishing the story.
