The Jamia Millia Islamia administration on Thursday set a timeline for restoring its students’ union, finally putting dates on the process to return to an elected body after two decades, as protests had continued after its earlier promise. The university has now appealed for an end to the agitation.
Not mentioning any dates for the process was a sticking point in the earlier settlement attempt.
The latest protest began over two weeks ago. The university has moved classes and examinations online during the agitation. It followed a similar agitation at Aligarh Muslim University in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The protesters refused, saying no student should have to apologise for exercising the right to peaceful protest.
In an order issued by the Registrar’s Office, the university said the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) constitution would be approved and implemented by May 15, 2027, and elections would then be held within about six weeks of July 16, 2027. The JMISU was dissolved in 2006, and the university has not held students’ union elections since. From 2012, it said elections could not be held while a Delhi High Court petition was pending, though students disputed that logic. There, the administration agreed to restore students’ union elections after a 19-day hunger strike and scheduled polls for November 5.
The order also said the university will withdraw all show-cause notices and disciplinary proceedings started against students involved in the protest. It also said orders on expulsion and suspension, as well as restrictions on campus entry, would be revoked. On the main demand, it said that once the union constitution is approved, the university will issue a notification for the student elections in line with the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines. The administration reasoned that the disbanding was due to “a series of violent incidents, the last being the attack on the Vice Chancellor”.
