Jamia students detained for protesting over disciplinary action; university says they are violating rules

Several students protesting at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) were detained by the Delhi Police Thursday morning, even as the university administration accused them of vandalising varsity property, a charge denied by students.

Members of left students’ groups have been protesting against the university’s show-cause notices issued last year to students who had organised a CAA-NRC observance day. The students said the university has been systematically targeting those who voice dissent, using administrative restrictions to curb protests and student activities.

The university formed a disciplinary committee to look into the allegations of sloganeering in December, which is scheduled to review the students’ role on February 25.

According to the protesting students, they were made to leave the university campus on Thursday morning, after which the police detained them at around 5 am, and taken to different police stations in South East Delhi. The Delhi Police confirmed that the students were detained but maintained that their personnel entered the campus.

The university administration, citing disruption to academic activities and damage to university property, said in a statement, “These handful of students have in the last two days vandalised university property, including the central canteen and also broken the gate of the security advisor office, forcing the JMI administration to take action. They have violated other university rules and were found carrying objectionable contraband items. The university administration taking a strong view of the damage to university property and defacement of the wall and the obstruction of the classes, has taken preventive measures so that the university continues to conduct classes and other academic activities as normal.”

“Taking preventive measures, today morning the university administration and the Proctorial team removed the students from the site of the protest and they have been evicted from the campus. The police have been requested to maintain law and order situation,” the university statement added.

At the centre of the latest demonstrations is student activist Sakhi, the president of the SFI JMI Unit, who was served with a suspension letter accusing her of violating university rules. The charges against her include disobeying faculty instructions, damaging property, and engaging in conduct deemed “unbecoming of a student.” Students contend that these accusations are baseless, and part of an ongoing effort by the administration to silence calls for campus rights, including improved hygiene facilities, better food quality, and academic freedom.

The protest was also fuelled by opposition to a 2022 Office Memorandum that prohibits gatherings of more than five students without prior approval from the administration. Students argue that this memorandum functions as a de facto restriction on demonstrations, academic discussions, and even informal cultural gatherings such as book readings and poetry sessions.

“Jamia has turned into a space where any form of student engagement is labelled as misconduct,” a protesting student said. “The administration has been arbitrarily issuing show-cause notices, pressuring students to conform, and shutting down any attempt at collective action,” a statement issued by SFI said.

“The administration responded with a forceful eviction of the demonstrators. Following the eviction, university authorities called for police assistance to maintain order on campus. The protest and subsequent crackdown have reignited discussions about student representation at Jamia, which has not held student union elections for nearly two decades. Many students argue that without an elected body to voice their concerns, they are left at the mercy of an administration that is unresponsive to their needs,” it added.

On December 1 last year, the university administration in an official communication, said that “no protests, dharnas, and raising slogans against any constitutional dignitaries shall be allowed in any part of the University campus”. It also warned protesters of disciplinary action after Left-wing student organisations held a protest against the violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal over a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.

“It has been brought to the notice of the competent authority… that some students are involved in raising slogans without the permission or intimation to the university authorities against the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India and other law enforcement agencies of the country on issues not related to the academia as well as to the university,” said the notification.

“It is once again reiterated… that no protests, dharnas, [or] raising slogans against any constitutional dignitaries shall be allowed in any part of the University Campus, otherwise disciplinary action against such erring students shall be initiated as per provision of the University rules,” it added.