Jamia students vs cops as protest continues over union poll restoration

Tensions escalated at Jamia Millia Islamia as police removed protesting students outside Gate No 7, amid an ongoing agitation demanding the restoration of students' union elections and a row over 'Free Kashmir' and 'Release Sharjeel Imam' graffiti.

In Short

• Tension at Jamia Millia Islamia over student protests and police action
• Students demand restoration of student union, absent since 2006
• Graffiti with slogans ‘Free Kashmir’ and ‘Release Sharjeel Imam’ sparks row

Tension gripped Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi on Saturday as a massive uproar unfolded outside Gate No 7, where police removed students gathered at the site while others continued raising slogans from inside the campus.

The developments came amid an ongoing student agitation demanding the restoration of the university's students' union and a political row over graffiti reading ‘Free Kashmir’ and ‘Release Sharjeel Imam’ on campus walls.

Female police personnel tried to remove women students gathered outside Gate No 7. Police subsequently cleared the area of students, including both women and men, while students inside the campus continued raising slogans.

The controversy over the slogans intensified on Saturday after the BJP demanded that the Congress clarify its position on the calls for separating Kashmir from India and releasing Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots case.

The BJP's demand followed Congress MP Imran Masood's visit to Jamia Millia Islamia on Friday to express solidarity with students protesting for the restoration of the students' union. Delhi Police detained Masood near the university after his visit.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party MP Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned Masood's presence on campus when the walls carried slogans such as ‘Free Kashmir’ and ‘Release Sharjeel Imam’.

JAMIA ADMINISTRATION CONDEMNS GRAFFITI

The university's teaching and non-teaching staff, along with Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi, condemned the defacement of campus walls and attacks on the institution's security personnel on Saturday.

The administration described the graffiti as an attack on the institution's dignity and the country's sovereignty. The appearance of the slogans brought the prolonged student agitation into the national political spotlight, with the BJP questioning the Congress MP's presence at the protest and the Congress leader defending his visit as an expression of support for the students' demands.

The university announced that classes across all courses would shift to online mode with immediate effect, citing the prevailing situation and the need to ensure students' safety. Heavy police deployment was also reported outside the campus as tensions continued.

STUDENTS DEMAND RESTORATION OF UNION ELECTIONS

The agitation began on October 12, when students launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding an official notification announcing a schedule for students' union elections. The university last held the elections in 2005 and dissolved the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU) in 2006 following campus violence.

Protesting students have demanded the restoration of elected student representation, describing its prolonged absence as a denial of their democratic rights on campus.

The university has maintained that any decision on student representation must comply with the Jamia Act, applicable ordinances and statutes, court orders, and the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee, which issued guidelines for student union elections in 2007.

Sharjeel Imam remains in judicial custody. Authorities arrested him on August 25, 2020, and booked him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi. He was allegedly accused of being one of the "masterminds" behind the violence, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

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