Jamia Milia Islamia, one of the top ranking universities in the country which witnessed an unprecedented crackdown by the Delhi Police during the anti-CAA protests, is still reeling under a continuous chokehold on dissent and alleged attempts to weaken its status as a minority institution.
Five years after the historic anti-CAA protests, another student resistance movement has flared up in the university, as a reaction to months of suppressed anger and suffocation.
The recent incidents were triggered by disciplinary action taken by the administration against four students for organising an event commemorating Delhi Police's brutal crackdown of the university in 2019.
Jamia was one of the spaces where protests erupted initially against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
On December 15, 2019, during a public protest near the university, Delhi Police entered the campus without any provocation. What followed was indiscriminate attacks against the students which left at least a hundred injured, including a student who lost vision in his left eye.
The attack left a lasting impact on the students as the university slowly personified the violence. Since the reopening of the campus after the Covid pandemic induced lockdown following the protests and subsequent police action, Jamia fell into an eerie and deafening silence, students say.
Everything from reading circles to freshers' parties, let alone peaceful protests, were either prohibited or disrupted by the authorities, making any attempt at collective engagement or political thought threatening and tiresome for students.
Conveying a clear message, the administration issued several circulars banning students from raising slogans against the ruling BJP government and its leaders, including the prime minister. Graffiti and other illustrations were also banned on the campus.
On December 15, 2024, some students took out a solidarity march in Jamia in remembrance of the anti-CAA protests and the subsequent police violence. According to the organisers, the authorities were approached for permission, which was not granted. The administration instead responded by declaring that the campus would be closed on the day for maintenance, effectively blocking the march.
Following the event, show cause notices were issued against four students. When students submitted their replies, two of them were deemed "unsatisfactory" by the authorities and handed over to the disciplinary committee.
The series of disciplinary actions against political engagements of students triggered a sit-in protest inside the campus on February 10, 2025.
"This has been going on for a while. Any mild sign of dissent and you get served show cause notices, you will be blackmailed and forced to sign undertakings promising not to raise your voice again. When we conduct study circles or reading circles, the guards would come and disperse us. The authorities repeatedly cited office memorandums as a reason for this," says Asheeq Marjan, one of the organisers of the sit-in protests.
The protesters demanded revocation of disciplinary proceedings, show cause notices issued against dissenting students and the office memorandums prohibiting acts of dissent inside the campus.
However, the protest was met with violence and coersion from the part of the administration. During the night, the authorities allegedly switched off all the lights inside the campus, locked all the washrooms, making it extremely difficult, especially for the female students.
On the early morning of February 13, the third day of the protest, around 12 students, including women, were forcibly removed from the protest site and taken to various police stations where they were held until the evening, without their whereabouts being known to friends or family.
"We were all sleeping when the guards came. They started beating me up, I tried to run but they kept beating. I was bleeding from my ears as they carried me to the police van. At least four people were beating me," said Jiyad Muhammed, who was among the detainees.
In a press release, protesting students of Jamia alleged that the guards humiliated and assaulted female students, specifically targeting them.
"One female student, who was menstruating at the time, pleaded for dignity and respect but was forcibly detained and handed over to the police, highlighting the inhumane and insensitive treatment inflicted by the authorities," the students said.
Recounting the incident, Asheeq said there were more than hundred guards present at the protest site to disperse just 15 students.
"We have no idea where they came from, because there are only 50-60 guards in the campus. Some of them had their faces covered. They were the ones who manhandled us. They indiscriminately beat us up, kicked on our faces and dragged us. They even confiscated our phones and ID cards. They then carried us to police buses which were parked inside the campus premises," Asheeq said.
The students alleged that the men who were present with their faces covered were Delhi Police personnel.
"Once we crossed the campus gates, the Delhi Police started beating us mercilessly. We were then split and taken to different police stations in the city. As we reached the police station, many students were bleeding from their faces due to the beatings. But the police refused to take them to the hospital and only continued the assault," Asheeq added.
The detained students received a backdated suspension letter from the administration after they were let go later that day. The next day, the personal details of seventeen students who were issued suspensions for participating in the protests, surfaced on several corners of the campus.
The details, including college ID numbers, photographs used in college IDs and contact details were published in the letter head of the university's proctorial department with a description that read: “List of active students who organised a protest without any permission on 10/02/2025 at 5:00 PM at the central canteen hall.”
Calling the action an "open call for targeting and lynching," the student community of Jamia slammed the administration.
"Given Jamia’s history— where students were shot at during the Anti-CAA movement—this move is nothing short of an open call for targeting and lynching. The inclusion of young women in these lists makes it even more dangerous, exposing them to severe risks of gendered harassment and violence. By handing over personal details to the public, the administration has deliberately endangered its own students, making itself complicit in any harm that may follow," the students said in a statement.
A day after the details were published, the university administration issued a statement absolving itself of the responsibility and claiming to have opened an investigation into the matter.
However, students said it is impossible and a more grave issue if it was not done by the administration.
"College student ID numbers and photos used in the college IDs are among the details that was published. How can such strictly confidential data be accessed by a third party? Moreover, the details were published in the letter head of the proctor. How does the administration explain that?" one of the students who did not want to be named asked.
"The publishing of the personal details is an attempt to threaten the other students. Most of the students in Jamia are Muslims and are first-generation learners. Such measures will pull them back from raising their voice out of fear. That is what the administration and the government wants," said Lubaib Basheer, a PhD scholar at Jamia and National General Secretary of Fraternity Movement.
Lubaib said the attempts to intimidation was also considering the potential of Jamia as a space of resistance.
"The anti-CAA movement was an instance when everyone recognised the potential of Jamia as a space of resistance against the imposition of draconian laws. They are trying to bring in repressive measures in the campus, keeping this in mind," he said.
The Delhi HC on March 5, while ordering a temporary stay on the suspension of the students, expressed concerns "about the way in which the protests being undertaken by the students are handled by the university."
"Students, when they go to university, certainly make an endeavour to raise their voice within the framework of the law. Rather, participation in such peaceful protests is part of training to inculcate the basic principles and norms of civil society,” the court remarked.
Jeopardising minority reservation
Beyond the uncompromising crackdown on dissent, Jamia administration is also trying to close its gates at Muslim students by allegedly sabotaging the reservations.
As a minority institution, Jamia's reservation policy mandates 50% reservation for Muslims in PhD admissions. Out of the 50%, 30% is reserved for Muslim category, while 10% for Muslim women, and 10% for Muslim OBCs and STs.
In the first ordinance since his appointment in October 2024, Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif made a seemingly trivial but significant alteration to Jamia's reservation policy for Muslims.
The ordinance issued on 12 November 2024, made minor changes to a phrase regarding the reservation policy, replacing "shall pay due attention" with "may pay due attention."
"While granting the admission to Ph.D. programme, the Faculty/Department/Centre may pay due attention to JMI reservation policy adopted for the admissions," the amendment read.
The seemingly minor change was ignored until the subsequent PhD admissions revealed a clear pattern where the university's minority reservation policy was jeopardised.
Several departments including the well-known AJK Mass Communication & Research Centre failed to meet the mandatory reservation for Muslim students.
At AJK, only one out of four total seats was allocated to Muslim students while at the Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, only one out of seven total seats were allocated to Muslim students.
The Department of History and Culture assigned two out of 12 seats to Muslim students while the Department of Psychology granted just two out of 10 seats to Muslim students.
Emphasizing the importance of Muslim reservation in institutions like Jamia, a former PhD student at the university said, "The educational backwardness of Muslims in India has been documented in various government reports, including the Sachar Committee Report. Jamia Millia Islamia is one of the few Muslim minority universities that provide a crucial space for the educational advancement of the community."
"As per legal provisions, Jamia is expected to uphold its minority status by ensuring at least 50% representation for Muslim candidates, with specific considerations for Muslim women, Muslim Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Muslim Other Backward Classes (OBCs). However, the recently published PhD admission results in several departments and centers, which do not appear to fulfill these requirements, are a concerning development. The university administration must demonstrate greater sensitivity and commitment to ensuring adequate minority representation," he said.
Student organisations and leaders see this as an attempt to weaken the autonomy of Jamia as a minority institution.
"The admission process for 2025 exposes a deliberate disregard for affirmative action, with multiple departments failing to implement the mandated quotas. These actions are not isolated but part of a larger agenda to strip JMI of its autonomy," Fraternity Movement, one of the first organisations to shed light on the issue, said in a statement.
"As a central university with a unique historical role, any interference with its policies amounts to a direct attack on its identity. This erosion of autonomy is unacceptable. JMI has been a pillar of inclusive education and a stronghold for historically marginalized communities. The ongoing attacks on its principles of justice and equity are a betrayal of this legacy," the organisation added.
According to Lubaib, through amendments in the reservation policy, the administration is trying to "change the demography of the institution."
"Following 2019, there have been systematic attempts to recruit students who adhere to the Hindutva ideology in several central universities across the country. Mazhar Asif is trying to implement the same in Jamia," Lubaib alleged.
In a statement, the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) stated that the administration's move "undermines the institution’s minority status and the rightful provisions for Muslim students."
Callling it a "direct assault on the rights of marginalised communities and the principles of equitable education," SFI Jamia said the administration's refusal to adhere to its own ordinances sets a dangerous precedent of exclusion and injustice.
"JMI has long stood as a pillar of inclusive education and a stronghold for historically marginalised communities. Any attack on its reservation policies and institutional autonomy is an attack on its very essence and purpose,” the organisation said.
However, in the face of ever-increasing challenges, students believe it is impossible to kill the spirit of Jamia, which has a history of standing up to power since its creation.
TNIE has reached out to the Jamia administration for their comments. This story will be updated if and when they respond.