AMU student on 15-day hunger strike, students demand elections after nearly 8 years

An Aligarh Muslim University student's hunger strike has entered its third week as protests intensify over the absence of student union elections since 2018-19. Students say they want AMUSU restored after nearly eight years without elected representation, while the university has cited serious concerns over the protester's deteriorating health.

In Short

• AMU student Yasser Fahad has been on hunger strike for 15 days over union elections
• Students say AMUSU has been absent since 2018-19, leaving them without elected representation
• Protests have spread across campus as students demand dialogue and restoration of AMUSU

At Aligarh Muslim University, a student protest over elections has reached a critical point.

Yasser Fahad, a postgraduate Urdu student, has been on a hunger strike for 15 days, demanding the restoration of the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union, or AMUSU.

His health has now become a major concern. The university attempted to shift him to its medical college after his vital signs reportedly deteriorated, but protesting students stopped the move.

The administration says the attempt was made to provide urgent medical care, not to break the protest.

Students, however, say the answer is simple: announce the elections.

AMUSU elections have not been held since the 2018-19 academic session. That means students have gone nearly eight years without an elected union representing them.

WHY ARE STUDENTS PUSHING SO HARD?

For the protesters, this is not simply about getting an election date.

They argue that an elected union gives students a formal platform to raise everyday problems involving hostels, food, electricity, curfews, academics and other campus facilities.

An elected students’ union would give students a platform to raise their concerns, said one protesting student, describing the demand as one for representation and leadership.

The protest has also taken a distinctly Gen Z character. At Duck Point, students have used memes, reels, sarcasm and witty placards to draw attention to the eight-year absence of AMUSU.

Women students have joined the protests too, with demonstrations reported around hostels.

One undergraduate student said hostel hygiene, mess food and curfew-related concerns were among the issues students wanted a representative body to address.

“A union does not just mean election; it means representation, it means leadership,” she said, as per a Maktoob Media report.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The standoff is now centred on two urgent questions: Fahad’s health and whether the university will engage with the students’ demand.

The AMU Teachers’ Association has also called for elections to statutory university bodies, saying several have functioned without elected teacher representatives for years.

Meanwhile, students continue to demand dialogue with the administration.

For them, the question is no longer simply when AMUSU elections will happen. It is why a university that has gone nearly eight years without an elected student body still has no clear election date.

- Ends