Jamia Millia Islamia student protests over the restoration of the university’s elected students’ union entered their 16th day on Tuesday, as Union education minister Pralhad Joshi said negotiations were under way and urged protesters to avoid creating a law-and-order situation on campus.
The protests continued despite the university administration announcing that elections would be held within 15 days of approval of the students’ union constitution. Students have rejected the announcement as insufficient because it does not provide a definite election date or specify when the constitution will be approved.
“Many efforts have been made and these elections are not being held since more than a decade… negotiations are going on… no one should try to create a law and order problem, this is what I can appeal for,” Joshi said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the CBSE Experience Centre. He added that a body was looking into the concerns raised by students.
The dispute centres on the absence of elections to the Jamia students’ union since 2006. The administration’s latest announcement has opened the possibility of restoring the elected body, but the process remains dependent on approval of the union constitution. Without that approval, the 15-day period for holding elections has no confirmed starting point.
The continuing uncertainty has kept the protest active on campus. Students have demanded a firm election date and a clear timeline for the constitutional approval process, rather than an indicative commitment from the administration.
Tensions have also continued over the university’s decision to move classes online and close campus facilities. Protesting students have opposed those measures, adding operational disruption to the dispute over student representation.
The episode places the university administration between two immediate responsibilities: managing campus operations and responding to demands for an elected student body. The education minister’s appeal for dialogue indicates that negotiations remain the stated route for addressing the impasse, while the administration’s election announcement has not yet resolved the central question of timing.
For students, the next decisive step is the approval of the union constitution, followed by a formally announced election schedule. Until those milestones are specified, the protest is likely to remain focused on the gap between the administration’s commitment to hold polls and the absence of a confirmed timeline.
