Jamia students call off three-week hunger strike after registrar assures union elections
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After three weeks of agitation and protests, during which students were manhandled and detained, a jubilant mood prevailed on the Jamia Millia Islamia campus as the university registrar assured the protesters of a definite timeline for framing a student union constitution and holding elections.
The students called off their indefinite hunger strike following a meeting with the registrar, bringing an end to a sustained agitation that began on October 12. However, questions remain over the fate of students facing police action and disciplinary proceedings arising from the protests.
The university has set May 15, 2027, as the deadline for completing the student union constitution, with elections to follow within six weeks of the academic session commencing on July 16. The proposed elections, expected between late July and mid-August, will be conducted in accordance with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations.
The university has also announced that disciplinary action and campus bans imposed in connection with the agitation will be revoked. Offline classes and examinations for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are scheduled to resume on November 2, with attendance made mandatory.
The settlement, however, has done little to dispel concerns over police action against protesters. Two FIRs have been registered by Delhi Police over alleged vandalism during the agitation, while two students and NSUI activists, Zeeshan Khan, who heads the organisation's Jamia unit, and Mohd Faizan, were sent to Tihar Jail for three days on Thursday.
The two were detained outside the university on Wednesday and produced before the Special Executive Magistrate at Amar Colony Police Station at 2 pm the following day. Reports also alleged that they had been kept in detention for 24 hours before being produced before the magistrate.
Meanwhile, a female resident of the Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls' Hostel reportedly received a show-cause notice for allegedly taking emergency leave before participating in the protest. She was asked to submit a written explanation within 24 hours, failing which disciplinary action could follow.
The agitation was triggered by Aligarh Muslim University's announcement of student union elections following a 19-day hunger strike by its students. Encouraged by the development, Jamia students launched their own indefinite hunger strike, demanding the restoration of a union that had remained absent since 2006.
Their demands also included the removal of the chief proctor and security adviser, release of detained students, withdrawal of punitive measures and reopening of the campus. Tensions peaked on October 25, when authorities suspended classes, disrupted water supplies and restricted campus movement in an attempt to disperse the protesters.