Jamia Millia Islamia Protest: A new spate of student demonstrations broke out when more than a dozen students were taken into custody for reportedly damaging government property and causing disturbances. The demonstration was called after administrative action was taken against student activists, fuelling discussions on campus freedom of speech, discipline policies, and the right to peaceful protest.
What Jamia Milia Islamia administration did?
According to authorities, over a dozen Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students were detained by the police for purportedly vandalizing public property and causing public disturbance.
The arrested students took part in a protest march against the university administration, which had issued show-cause notices to four students for organizing a protest on December 15, 2024, the fifth anniversary of Jamia carnage. Students initiated the protest with a critique of the administration’s “crackdown on student activism.”
The university asserts that the administration acted upon the protesting students’ destruction of university property, such as breaking the gate of the security advisor’s office and vandalizing the central canteen.
The police had been asked by the institution to remove the students to restore law and order, the police sources revealed. “We stopped about a dozen students at about four in the morning after receiving a call from the administration of the university. We have also deployed additional police officers around the university to maintain peace,” said a police officer.
The institution stated in a release that on the night of February 10, a group of students had gathered in the academic block unauthorized. As midterm exams were about to be conducted, the university accused them of disrupting classes and preventing other students from accessing the Central Library and attending classes.
The statement also alleged that the administration had no choice but to react because the protesters had vandalized university property and trashed the gate of the security advisor’s office. The statement went on further to say, “They were found in possession of objectionable contraband items and violated university rules.” To ensure that academic activities continued uninterrupted, preventive measures were adopted by the administration.
The protesting students reportedly refused to talk to the supervisor, head, and dean, even when the university agreed to constitute a committee to listen to their grievances. To maintain law and order, the university took the next step and removed the protesting students from the site, seeking the assistance of the police.
What activist says?
Sonakshi, a student activist, informed PTI that the protesters had four key demands: cancellation of the show-cause notices issued to two PhD scholars; revocation of the 2022 Office Memorandum forbidding protests on campus; cancellation of the Rs 50,000 penalty for posters and graffiti; and the assurance that protesting students would not be subjected to any disciplinary action in the future.
To discuss the role of the two PhD students in organizing the “Jamia Resistance Day” on December 15, 2024, a day to commemorate the 2019 anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, the disciplinary committee of the university will meet on February 25.
Conclusion
The arrest of Jamia students has heated debates about student activism and administrative responsibility. While the university defends its decision as indispensable in the pursuit of order, activists plead their entitlement to opposition. As the case is readied for examination by the disciplinary panel, the outrage highlights more overarching issues about democratic expression in the university campuses.