NEW DELHI: Three students of Jamia Millia Islamia have launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding the restoration of the students’ union and elections, which were discontinued on the campus in 2006.
The hunger strike began on October 12 at Gate No. 18, the designated protest site. However, after student Jasim Khan was allegedly picked up and left at Sukhdev Vihar, the protesters shifted their demonstration to Gate No. 7, near the statue of poet Mirza Ghalib.
On Tuesday, police personnel, including women officers, were stationed outside Gate No. 7. Entry into the campus was being regulated, with visitors required to produce identity cards.
“Three students. No food. One demand,” read a message circulated by the campaign, calling for the restoration of student democracy at Jamia.
The hunger strikers are Jasim Khan, a student of the Master’s programme in International Studies; Najmul, a BTech student; and Ebin, a BA LLB student.
Speaking to this newspaper, Jasim said the protest was necessary to demand students’ basic rights. He alleged that he was forcibly picked up soon after the hunger strike began and claimed that police and security personnel were stationed outside the gate.
The campaign has urged students and others to extend solidarity to the protesters, describing the agitation as a movement for student representation and participation in campus decision-making.
Jamia students have sought the restoration of an elected union for nearly two decades. Since elections were discontinued in 2006, student organisations have submitted memorandums to university officials, but the demand remains unresolved.
The protesters say an elected union would provide students with a formal platform to raise grievances and represent their interests.