Suspensions, Campus Bans as Jamia Sees Spike in Authorities' Action, Clashes: Report
New Delhi: The number of students at the Jamia Millia Islamia university who faced action from authorities including suspensions and campus bans has risen in the past two years, a right to information request reported on by Times of India has found.
The number of students who faced action jumped from 17 in 2019 to 47 in 2022, 105 in 2023, and 74 in 2024 — a total of 243 students over four years, the report says.
This period also saw a rise in student clashes, the RTI says. Forty two incidents were reported in 2023 and 2024.
The university saw no clashes in 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 lockdowns were in place.
The end of 2019 saw pitched protests at Jamia against the Citizenship Amendment Act. While students were peaceful, Delhi police entered the campus on December 15, 2019, in an extraordinary move, assaulting students who were studying, releasing tear gas shells in the library and causing extraordinary chaos. Over a hundred students were injured.
In these years, Jamia – which is a minority institution – has played microcosm to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's anti-Muslim policies.
The Wire has reported how in the wee hours of February 13 this year, 14 students who were protesting inside the university were woken up while they were sleeping and forcibly carried by security guards of the institute and handed over to police. These students were part of a sit-in protest demanding the revoking of the disciplinary action against four students who were suspended for organising the remembrance day event.
Earlier this year, the Delhi high court temporarily stayed this suspension order. Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma condemned the manner in which the varsity responded to the peaceful demonstrations, calling it “worrisome”.
Notably, a memorandum released on November 29 last year states that “no protests, dharnas, raising slogans against any constitutional dignitaries shall be allowed in any part of the university campus.” Along with this, there is a fine ranging up to Rs 50,000 for graffiti and postering in the campus premises.
The Times of India report notes that punitive action against students ranged from warnings and show-cause notices to suspensions and campus bans:
"In 2023, Jamia issued 71 show-cause notices, asked 21 students to sign good conduct bonds, and banned three from campus. In 2024, 56 students were issued show-cause, eight put on good conduct bonds, four were suspended, and one was banned from the campus."
Over a six-year period, five FIRs were registered in connection with the altercations, one in 2019 and four in 2024. "The FIRs were filed under sections relating to ‘causing hurt’, though the university declined to disclose specific provisions, citing Section 8(1)(h) of RTI Act, which exempts details that could impede an investigation," the TOI report notes.
The report also notes that between 2019 and 2024, Jamia collected a total of Rs 27,000 in fines. This includes Rs 7,000 in 2019; Rs 4,000 in 2022; Rs 12,500 in 2023; and Rs 3,500 in 2024. No fines were collected in 2020 or 2021, the COVID-19 years.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.