Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth and Development, Tamil Nadu, on May 25, 2025, suspended three Muslim students pursuing their final year Master’s in Social Work, calling them anti-national for allegedly painting “Free Palestine” on the hostel wall.
The rustication order served by the Institute alleges “gross misconduct” and involvement in “spoiling hostel premises with anti-national content.” Students Aslam S, Sayeedh M A, and Nahal Ibnu Abullaise from Kerala were suspended after they had been expelled from the hostel earlier. The suspension order came a day before their final year exams. The rustication order restricts students from appearing for any public examination for one year. Their Hall tickets were blocked on Friday, and by 8 pm on a Saturday, despite being a non-working day, three of them were given rustication orders on the grounds of writing “anti-national” content.
The students, however, denied the allegations and said this was a targeted attack.
“They have only asked four Muslim students to appear before the disciplinary committee. We are being clearly targeted,” Aslam told The Observer Post.
The disciplinary action was taken without following any norms, as per the students.
“Two hours before, our Head of the Department (HOD) notified us through WhatsApp that three of us should report to the Disciplinary Committee. Only three of the Muslim students were asked to appear before the disciplinary committee at 4 pm, just a few hours before. Neither were we given any notice, nor given a chance to prove our innocence,” he said.
A flash inspection occurred earlier in the hostel, targeting only five or six rooms, following which seven final-year students from the MSW department were expelled from the hostel. The students were accused of painting “Free Palestine” on hostel walls, a claim contested by the students who were suspended from the campus.
During the inspection, the team found no concrete evidence other than an unusable roller in one room. The students said that they used it for one of their field projects and have evidence of using it for the project.
Seven of them were served notices, and they were stuck on the hostel walls and premises as well. However, only three of the Muslim students were asked to appear before the Disciplinary committee.
The students whose rooms were raided allege that the inspection specifically targeted them in association with protests they conducted on the campus against the Assistant Registrar, against who a rape case is registered in Chandigarh. The students organised the protests, demanding that the Assistant Registrar be moved until the case was resolved.
Aslam, who is also in the student council, shared that after the painting appeared on the walls, the institution had pressure from above to take action against the one who did it. Students allege that this “witch-hunting” against a few of them was a vendetta against the protests.
The disciplinary committee asked them questions like, “Do you know who has written ‘Free Palestine’ on the walls, and did you know about the checking?”
“We were mentally harassed during the process and asked if we doubted anyone else, and told to find the one who did this. When I questioned why only three of the Muslim students were asked to come before the DC. The AR says that they are not here to answer our questions, and denied us any chance to see our evidence or prove our innocence.”
Later, one of their roommates was also called to the DC and, along with three others, served a suspension order.
Several came in defence of the students. The student bodies called the disciplinary action biased and denied any involvement in writing or displaying slogans in the hostel. They also asserted that writing ‘Free Palestine’ or ‘Jai Bhim’ does not make anyone anti-national in any legal or constitutional regard.
Safiya, president of Fraternity Movement Chennai, said the action is condemnable and demanded the immediate revocation of the “arbitrary and targeted suppression.”
The students have contacted MP Sivadasan and other leaders, appealing to them to reschedule the exams and allow them to write them.
“The exams can be conducted by June 4. We are appealing to the administration to let us write the exams. If there is no progress by tomorrow, we plan to file a writ petition at the High Court. We will also move to the Human Rights Commission against this mental harassment,” said Aslam.
