Jamia Millia Islamia protest: Students at Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi began an indefinite protest Monday towards the university's disciplinary proceedings against two PhD researchers who reportedly organized a demonstration last year.
The disciplinary actions are tied to "Jamia Resistance Day," an annual event remembering the 2019 anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, on December 15, 2024. That year, the Delhi Police reportedly entered the school and baton-charged students in the library, causing uproar across the nation.
The disciplinary panel is set to assess the students' roles on February 25, but the university administration has yet to respond to the students' demands, which they have termed as an "attack on campus democracy".
However, the Delhi Police stated that the university took the measures against Neha. “As per the police, the Jamia administration has removed her and is also planning to file a complaint with us. It was the Jamia administration that brought her to the police station,” a police officer told The Indian Express.
Protesters, organized by Left-affiliated student organizations such as AISA, are calling for the cancellation of disciplinary actions and the termination of what they call a "crackdown on student activism." They have charged the administration of violating their fundamental rights to assembly and expression, holding banners with inscriptions such as "Dissent is the Legacy of Jamia" and "Restore Campus Democracy."
Tensions rose on Tuesday when AISA claimed its All-India President, Neha, had been detained by Delhi Police while standing in solidarity with the demonstrators.
In its statement Monday AISA said, “The All India Students’ Association strongly condemns the Jamia Millia Islamia administration’s undemocratic and authoritarian actions against students commemorating the state-sponsored attack on Jamia on December 15, 2019. On December 16, students of Jamia gathered to peacefully remember the violent crackdown of 2019, only to be met with yet another attempt to suppress student voices.”
