Students, activists protest Jamia professor's suspension over exam question on atrocities against Muslims

A Jamia Millia Islamia professor has been suspended after a question related to atrocities being endured by Muslims in India was included in an examination paper he prepared, though the action has triggered protests from students, teachers, and activists, who have questioned how a question directly linked to the course syllabus could warrant disciplinary action.

The suspended faculty member, Virendra Balaji Shahare, who teaches in the Department of Social Work, was the paper setter for the BA (Hons) Social Work Semester-I examination titled Social Problems in India for the academic session 2025–26, and the controversy arose after the question paper asked students to discuss atrocities against Muslim minorities in the country, according to Maktoob media.

The suspension, however, has drawn sharp criticism from within and outside the university, with former student Humaira Aftab describing the action as unjustified and questioning the logic of penalising a teacher for framing a question central to the study of social problems.

Aftab also alleged that Shahare, who belongs to the Dalit community, was being unfairly targeted, and argued that preventing discussion on the condition of minorities undermines the purpose of social work education.

Concerns were echoed by another faculty member, who argued that universities were increasingly constrained from engaging critically with social realities, even when such discussions fall squarely within academic curricula.

Meanwhile, the Jamia Millia Islamia unit of the Fraternity Movement has demanded the immediate revocation of Shahare’s suspension, warning that continued inaction would lead to collective resistance by students, as the episode was being seen as a serious assault on academic freedom at an institution historically associated with intellectual dissent.

Following the examination, the university stated that it had received several complaints from various sources objecting to the content of the paper, prompting the administration to take action.

In an official order dated December 23, 2025, Jamia Millia Islamia said that the competent authority had taken a serious view of what it described as negligence and carelessness on the part of the professor, and, acting on these instructions, the Vice-Chancellor ordered his suspension with immediate effect pending further orders.

The order invoked Statute 37(1) of the university statutes, stating that the alleged negligence amounted to conduct unbecoming of a faculty member, while also noting that an inquiry would be conducted into the matter.

The university further stated that a police first information report would be filed as per rules in connection with the issue, though it has not publicly clarified the precise nature of the objections raised against the examination question. During the period of suspension, Shahare’s headquarters will remain in New Delhi, and he will not be permitted to leave the city without prior approval from the competent authority.

Copies of the suspension order were forwarded to senior officials, including the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, the Head of the Department of Social Work, and the Controller of Examinations, for necessary administrative action.