NEW DELHI: Citing unsatisfactory” progress in her thesis work, Jamia Millia Islamia’s Department of Sociology has approved the cancellation of admission of scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, who was arrested in a 2020 riots case, a senior varsity official said.
The matter was approved by the department’s Board of Studies (BoS), which is the highest decision-making body of the department. The official said a notification by Dean’s office in this regard will be issued in the coming days. Zargar is enrolled with the Department of Sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme. She, meanwhile, has accused the administration of being discriminatory and “holding” grudges. Zargar and some Jawaharlal Nehru University student leaders have been accused of being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi.
“Zargar has been given multiple extensions over the years and the university has tried to help her but her performance has been unsatisfactory. Her supervisor and Research Advisory Committee (RAC) recommended the cancellation of her admission,” the official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The recommendation of RAC was then approved by the Department Research Committee. “The final approval has come from the Board of Studies. We are expecting notification in this regard in the coming days,” the official said.
Zargar tweeted that her application for an extension of Mphil thesis submission has been put on hold for over eight months. She has been informed by RAC verbally that she is not being granted an extension. “I fear that my admission will be cancelled soon. This is sheer discrimination and no official is responding. I have knocked on every possible door but to no avail,” she said. On Wednesday, Zargar also wrote to Jamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar that she is being subjected to undue harassment and ridicule at the hands of the administration.
“While UGC has granted five consecutive Covid extensions I have been given only one. I was forced to apply for an extension under the women scholar category, only to be denied after months citing ‘unsatisfactory progress’....This is in clear violation of the UGC guidelines and points to the malafide intentions of the Supervisor and the department. I will be taking all remedial action available to me,” the letter read.