Clashes break out at Jamia protest, campus shut, classes go online

Jamia Millia Islamia closed its campus because a student protest escalated into clashes with security personnel. The university said online classes would protect student safety while preserving academic work. It also advised students not to visit campus until further notice.

The immediate confrontation took place at Ghalib Lawn. Videos showed pushing and shoving. Protesters formed a human chain to stop hunger strikers from being removed after negotiations failed. AISA alleged that security personnel attacked protesters and removed tents. Five students later moved to a new protest site inside a political science department building.

The dispute began on October 12 over restoring an elected student union. The university said dialogue had failed, while students continued demanding election dates, the removal of two officials, and withdrawal of disciplinary action. The closure therefore followed both physical confrontation and a wider breakdown in negotiations.

A student union is a body that represents students in discussions with university authorities. It can raise concerns, organize campaigns, communicate student demands, and help shape campus life. An elected union matters because students choose the representatives who speak for them, giving those representatives a clearer mandate.

In practice, elections create a formal route for student participation. Representatives can gather complaints, negotiate with administrators, and press for changes. They may also organize protests when dialogue does not resolve an issue. The exact powers of a union depend on university rules, but its central function is collective representation.

At Jamia, the demand is for the restoration of an elected union that has been absent since 2006. The administration has begun drafting a JMISU constitution, but says elections need an agreed constitution and electoral mechanism first. Students want a faster, definite election timeline.

Jamia has had no elected student union since 2006, when the union was dissolved following violence. That means students have spent roughly two decades without an elected body of this kind. The university is described as one of Delhi’s few central universities still without an elected union.

The current protest began on October 12 as a sit-in and hunger strike. It expanded into a major campus agitation, involving five students on hunger strike and confrontations with security personnel. Protesters also formed a human chain and moved the hunger-strike camp to a new site after talks failed.

The article does not give a numerical comparison with earlier protests. It does, however, call this Jamia’s biggest student protest since the anti-CAA agitation. That description shows its unusual scale, while the continuing dispute suggests the absence of a union remains a major unresolved issue.

The article states that Jamia’s student union was dissolved in 2006 following violence. It does not identify the specific violence, explain who was involved, or describe the formal decision that ended the union. That is the direct historical reason provided for the union’s dissolution.

The article also gives no detailed account of why the union was not restored sooner. It says Jamia is one of Delhi’s few central universities without an elected union. The present administration argues that election dates would be premature until the union has a constitution and an electoral mechanism. This points to an institutional and procedural barrier, but the article does not establish when those barriers arose.

The current committee has begun drafting a JMISU constitution. Students reject waiting without a firm timeline. Thus, the historical legacy is clear—violence ended the earlier union—but the longer delay remains unexplained in the available account.

The main dispute is between protesting students and Jamia’s administration. Students want an immediate timeline for union elections, removal of the chief proctor and security adviser, and withdrawal of disciplinary action against protesters. They also want their hunger strike and sit-in to continue until their demands are addressed.

Jamia’s administration says dialogue has failed and that campus closure protects safety and security. Its high-level committee supports drafting a union constitution and says election dates should wait for an electoral mechanism. Security personnel are central because protesters accuse them of using force and removing tents. Police also detained two visiting Congress MPs after one entered by jumping over a boundary wall.

AISA supports the protesters’ account and alleged attacks by security personnel. The administration condemns campus graffiti and says it harms Jamia’s reputation. The dispute therefore combines representation, disciplinary action, security practices, and control over campus space.

Jamia’s high-level committee proposed a procedural solution rather than immediate elections. It said the administration had created a committee to draft the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union constitution. The committee also urged students to end their hunger strike and recommended reviewing disciplinary action begun after October 12.

The proposed mechanism was to establish rules before holding elections. The committee said election dates would be premature without a constitution and an electoral system. It also recommended a code of conduct and sensitivity training for security personnel, responding to complaints that protesters had been manhandled.

Students rejected the proposal because it did not provide an immediate election timeline. They also demanded the chief proctor and security adviser be removed, and all disciplinary action against protesters be withdrawn. Since those demands remained unresolved, the sit-in and hunger strike continued, and the confrontation intensified.

Student elections create a recognized channel for collective representation. They allow students to choose people who can negotiate with administrators and raise shared concerns. Security rules determine how protests, gatherings, and campus spaces are managed. Disciplinary rules define consequences when authorities believe students have broken university standards.

These systems work together. If elections are absent, students may rely on sit-ins, hunger strikes, or other direct action to be heard. If security personnel remove tents or physically clear a protest, dissent can escalate. If disciplinary action follows, students may see it as punishment for speaking out. At Jamia, protesters linked these issues directly.

The university wants a constitution, an electoral mechanism, and orderly security procedures. Students want elections quickly, disciplinary action withdrawn, and senior officials removed. The committee’s proposed code of conduct and security training could reduce future conflict, but the article gives no final settlement.