Students of the University of Delhi staged a protest outside the university’s Examination Branch after the administration decided to conduct an Administrative Law examination on May 28, the day of Eid-ul-Adha, triggering anger among Muslim students and student groups.
The protest was led by the All India Students’ Association Delhi University unit along with students from the Faculty of Law, who demanded immediate postponement of the exam, an official apology from the administration and what they described as a reaffirmation of secular and inclusive values within the university.
The protest comes after the university reportedly refused repeated requests from students to reschedule the examination despite Eid-ul-Adha being recognised as a gazetted holiday.
AISA Calls Decision ‘Institutional Exclusion’
Condemning the university’s move, AISA accused the administration of excluding Muslim students and forcing them to choose between academics and religious observance.
Anjali, secretary of AISA Delhi University, alleged that the issue reflected a larger pattern of discrimination.
“It is a deliberate pattern of institutional exclusion and blatant Islamophobia. This exam scheduling is not an isolated administrative slip, it follows a clear sequence of targeting a particular community,” she said.
Referring to an earlier controversy, she claimed that permission for a student iftar gathering had been abruptly revoked by the Faculty of Law administration in March.
“By aggressively forcing Muslim students to choose between their constitutional right to celebrate their festival with dignity and their academic future, the DU administration is actively stripping them of their rights,” Anjali said.
She also argued that several national examination bodies had revised schedules around religious holidays, questioning Delhi University’s refusal to alter the exam date.
Students Allege Police Intimidation During Protest
According to AISA, students protesting outside the Examination Branch were allegedly met with police intimidation and faced heckling and physical pushing by security personnel during the demonstration.
The student body further claimed that the Dean of Students’ Welfare told protesters to wait for the Delhi High Court’s decision regarding the matter, stating that the administration’s “hands were tied.”
AISA rejected the claim, alleging that the university had previously reshuffled examination schedules for law students multiple times at short notice.
Matter Reaches Delhi High Court
The controversy has now reached the Delhi High Court, where a writ petition is expected to be filed on behalf of affected students seeking postponement of the examination scheduled on Eid-ul-Adha.
So far, the university administration has not announced any change in the exam schedule.
