JMI students boycott classes over suspension of 17 peers
NEW DELHI: Several students of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) boycotted classes on Monday in protest against the suspension of 17 students for participating in demonstrations against disciplinary action taken earlier against two PhD scholars.
Supporting the students, CPI-ML Liberation MP from Bihar’s Karakat, Raja Ram Singh, urged Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Vice Chancellor Mazhar Asif to withdraw FIRs against students and remove the university’s Chief Proctor for “illegally publishing personal details of students.”
The Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA), which called for the boycott, accused the university of suppressing student activism.
“Jamia administration may lock us out but cannot silence our resistance. Students stand united in the boycott against repression. We refuse to be muted,” the student body said in a statement. Protesting students marched from the Hygienic Canteen to the Office of the Dean of Student Welfare (DSW) and submitted a memorandum demanding the immediate revocation of the suspensions.
“As the Dean of Students’ Welfare, you are supposed to be concerned about the students’ welfare. However, the incidents happening on campus against these 17 students do not align with that responsibility,” the memorandum read.
The students’ demand include revocation of the FIR, suspension orders, and disciplinary proceedings against all dissenting students; halting the issuance of show-cause notices to protesting students; and an immediate withdrawal of all previous show-cause notices related to student activism, it added. Umair, a Jamia student associated with AISA said that the students have given the varsity an ultimatum of 48 hours to fulfil the demands.
There was no immediate response available from the Jamia administration on the matter. Meanwhile, in a letter to the VC, Singh wrote, “The Jamia administration has initiated disciplinary action against two students and suspended 17 others for exercising their democratic rights. Was it wrong to voice support for democracy and uphold Constitutional values?”
Jamia students have accused the administration of privacy violations, while demanding the removal of the Chief Proctor and the revocation of disciplinary actions.
