Jamia Millia Islamia has formed a seven-member committee to engage with students on hunger strike and examine their demand for the restoration of the university’s students’ union, which has remained dissolved since 2006.
The committee was constituted on Monday after five students began an indefinite hunger strike on October 12. The university said the panel would hold dialogue with the protesting students, examine their demands and take steps to restore peace and normalcy on campus.
The decision followed a meeting of senior university officials on Sunday evening, including Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif, Registrar Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi, Controller of Examinations Ahteshamul Haque, deans and other officials. The committee comprises senior deans and professors, according to the university’s statement.
The administration’s move comes three days after it rusticated law student Ebin Basil for one year, suspended two other students, Jasim Khan and Mohd Ilmaan, and imposed a one-year campus ban on all three. The orders accused the students of misconduct during protests.
The agitation intensified after student organisations alleged that security guards manhandled protesters on October 18. The group Jamia Students for Students’ Union has demanded the immediate restoration of the union, withdrawal of the disciplinary action and the resignation of the Chief Proctor over events on October 17, when protesters alleged they were forcibly removed from the campus.
The university has defended the continued dissolution of the students’ union by referring to what it described as recurrent violent clashes, attacks on teachers and disruption of classes in and after 2006. It said union elections were dissolved that year because of the incidents.
The administration also referred to proceedings before the Delhi High Court in 2022 concerning a petition seeking students’ union elections. According to the university, the court disposed of the matter after accepting its submissions and did not direct Jamia to conduct elections, citing the history of violence on campus.
Jamia said the present administration, which assumed office in October 2024, was committed to finding an amicable resolution to the two-decade-old impasse. The university also pointed to subject association elections in its departments and centres as an existing channel for student representation.
Under that system, students vote by secret ballot to elect a vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary in their respective departments and centres. The newly constituted committee is expected to engage with the protesting students and examine the demands as the hunger strike continues.
