Jamia Millia Islamia to Announce Union Elections After Draft Is Ready

Jamia Millia Islamia administration promises to hold student union elections once a draft constitution is submitted by students, as the ongoing hunger strike reaches its 13th day amidst demands for the revocation of disciplinary actions.

University Response to Student Protests

Jamia Millia Islamia Registrar Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi on Saturday said the university would announce students' union elections as soon as the draft constitution was submitted, following his meeting with protesting students as their hunger strike entered its 13th day. The students have been demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU), revocation of disciplinary action against students and removal of the university's Chief Proctor over what they have described as a crackdown on protesters.

Speaking to reporters, Jamia Registrar Rizvi said he personally met the students who were staging a hunger strike and discussed their demand for holding students' union elections. "Regarding their demand for holding a union election, I informed them that we have already formed a draft committee tasked with drafting a constitution. They then asked for a deadline. I told them that the sooner they complete the draft constitution, the sooner we will conduct the elections—a proposal they agreed to," the Registrar said.

He added that the students had asked when the elections would be held, following which he reiterated that the university would announce the schedule after receiving the draft constitution prepared by the committee, which includes student representatives. "Since you yourselves offered to draft the constitution—with your own representatives included in the committee—we will announce the elections as soon as you provide the draft," Rizvi said.

Disciplinary Reviews and Campus Controversies

On the students' demand for the revocation of disciplinary action, the Registrar said the university would review the cases and refer them to the Disciplinary Committee (DC). "I assured them that we would review these actions, bring the matter before the Disciplinary Committee (DC), and reinstate those found to be innocent," he said.

Jamia Registrar Rizvi also condemned the "Free Kashmir" graffiti reportedly found on the campus and alleged that unauthorised individuals had entered the university premises during the protest. "As for the graffiti written yesterday—the 'Free Kashmir' slogan—we condemn it in the strongest possible terms; we will not support it under any circumstances," he said.

Referring to the entry of political leaders into the campus, Rizvi alleged that Congress MP Imran Masood had "broken through a wall to get in", while Imran Pratapgarhi had "broken a lock to enter". "These are unauthorised individuals... We have filed a complaint with the police and asked them to take action... There were a few others from the AIMIM who entered here," he said.

Academic Measures and External Reactions

Jamia Millia Islamia has decided to conduct classes of all courses online with immediate effect until further notice, citing the ongoing situation and the need to ensure the safety and security of students on campus.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Imran Masood, who on Friday visited the campus to meet the protesting students, called on the university administration to address their demands and revoke their expulsions. "The situation at Jamia is a very serious matter. I visited the campus yesterday. Students have been on a hunger strike for 12 days. The university administration should listen to them; their expulsion must be revoked, and their demands addressed. Once the election dates are announced, this protest will end immediately," Masood told ANI.

Denying that slogans calling for a "Free Kashmir" had been raised during the protest, Masood said the slogan had only been written on walls. "No slogans were chanted; they were merely written on the walls. I explicitly stated there that Kashmir is an integral part of India, and all the students present supported this," he said. Masood was briefly detained by Delhi Police on Friday night during his visit to the Jamia campus. He later told ANI, "No slogans calling for a 'free Kashmir' were raised there, not a single one. I stood up in front of everyone and strongly condemned such slogans, stating that Kashmir is an integral part of India."

Criticism from Public Figures

Speaking to ANI, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit also criticised the alleged slogans, claiming that similar incidents had occurred at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and other educational institutions. "This is not the first time such incidents have occurred in the country. We have seen this at JNU and other universities as well. We have seen slogans demanding freedom for Kashmir and the release of those behind bars, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. Who are these people? Who are these forces? They are people hiding behind the identities of students, professors and those associated with educational institutions while engaging in what I consider acts of terrorism. I call them terrorists. It is therefore very important for our government, PM Narendra Modi and Union HM Amit Shah, to treat them like terrorists," Pandit said.

"Treating them under ordinary laws is not enough. Our brave security forces have successfully destroyed terrorist camps in Pakistan, and we are happy about that. But the more important question is whether we are destroying the terrorist camps within our own country. These people are studying in educational institutions. They call themselves students and professors, but they are spreading what I consider terrorism," he added. Pandit also referred to statements allegedly made by a woman professor at JNU, saying, "We have also seen statements by a woman professor at JNU making abusive remarks about India's identity and existence. It is essential to eliminate this poison spreading through our colleges and institutions," he added.

The hunger strike began on October 12, with five students continuing their protest on Saturday. They are seeking the restoration of the students' union, which was dissolved in March 2006, and the removal of the Chief Proctor. Jasim Ali Khan, who has been on hunger strike since the beginning of the protest, accused the university administration of launching a "crackdown" and demanded that the suspensions of students be revoked. During the initial days of the protest, Delhi Police attempted to remove the protesters from the designated protest site on the university campus, leading to an escalation of the demonstration. Earlier, Jamia Millia Islamia constituted a seven-member high-level committee to engage with the protesting students, examine their demands and take steps to restore normalcy on campus. (ANI)

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