Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi has issued a directive prohibiting students from participating in protests or shouting slogans against constitutional functionaries on campus. This came after instances where students raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and law enforcement agencies over non-academic issues.
The university’s office memorandum, issued on November 29, referred to a previous advisory from August 29, 2022, which had urged students to refrain from holding protests or shouting slogans without prior permission from the administration. The memorandum said that no protests, dharnas, or slogans against constitutional dignitaries would be allowed on university grounds, warning that disciplinary action would be taken against violators under university rules.
The All India Students’ Association (AISA) has condemned the directive, calling it a reminder of how the Sangh Parivar has influenced academic institutions. AISA accused the university administration of aligning itself with the BJP’s efforts to stifle dissent and criticized it for equating peaceful protest with disorder.
“The ruling regime, incapable of tolerating criticism, has weaponised university authorities to shield itself from accountability,” the association stated.
Dayar I Shauq Students’ Charter, a students body in Jamia said that “such ordering and imposition of discipline flies in the face of freedoms of speech and expression under Act 19 of the Constitution of India.”
“It goes against letter and spirit of freedom of assembly under the same article. It violates right to personal liberty under Article 21. It is against human rights of a citizen. It contradicts the idea of citizenship.”
“In 1928 Bhagat Singh wrote an article ‘Students and Politics’ in response to some suggestions that students should keep away from politics. He says ‘We concede that the basic duty of the students is to study, so he should not let his attention waver in that regard. But is it not part of the education that the youth should know what the conditions are in their country and be enabled to think of solutions for their improvement?’ Jamia Millia Islamia was born out of Non-cooperation movement. Why should that University suppress the spirit once it is a University of the State ? Why should expressions of fact and opinion become a hesitant exercise ? There is shrinkage of democratic space and that cannot be a fine reality. JMI has two halls named after icons of resistance – Edward Said and Yasser Arafat. The University backtracks from continuing with that history. Such kind of office communications make past actions look inconsistent such as the allowance by University of the anti CAA-NRC-NPR movement,” the group said in a statement.
This move follows the university’s history of student protests, including those against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019, when Delhi Police stormed the campus. The police’s use of batons and tear gas led to over 100 injuries, and visuals of officers entering the university library and washrooms sparked nationwide outrage. The police defended their actions, claiming they were responding to violence by the protesters.
