New Delhi, Oct 17 Students protesting for the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia students’ union entered the university campus on Saturday despite police detentions and warnings from the administration, student groups claimed.
The development came after students on a hunger strike for the past five days were removed from the campus around 5 am, following which the university administration sealed the campus and closed its gates, according to the All India Students’ Association (AISA).
Students began gathering at Gate 7 around 3 pm, demanding that the campus be reopened. Despite police detentions, a section of the protesters entered the campus and continued their sit-in, AISA said in a statement.
AISA Jamia secretary Saurabh questioned the administration’s decision to close the campus, alleging that it had refused to engage in dialogue with students and resorted to force to suppress their protest.
“The university is made up of its students. Then on what authority has the administration shut down the campus?” he said, describing the move as “illegal” and “anti-democratic”.
AISA demanded that the campus be reopened and students be allowed access to essential facilities, including the library and canteens. The organisation reiterated its support for the restoration of the students’ union and called for a democratic, student-led campus.
A university official, however, said the students had been repeatedly issued notices to stage their protest at the designated site but continued to disrupt academic activities near the main gate and the lawn at Gate 7.
The official said Jamia already had a mechanism through which every department and centre had three elected student representatives who could raise students’ concerns.
The administration was not opposed to the demand for a students’ union, but no memorandum had been submitted to initiate the process, the official said.
“How can we start the process if no memorandum has been submitted? No committee can be formed,” the official said.
The official added that one student had been rusticated for a year and barred from entering the campus, with the provision to appeal against the decision. Two other students had been barred from the campus for six months, with their cases to be reviewed by the disciplinary committee.
The protest follows renewed demands for student union elections at Jamia, where students have been pressing for the restoration of an elected representative body.
(PTI News)
