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Journalism of Courage
The Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association (AISA) at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) on Saturday called for a boycott of classes on Monday in protest against the university suspending some students for carrying out a demonstration against the disciplinary action taken against two PhD scholars.
The JMI, in a statement issued on Saturday, cautioned students not to fall prey to “fake messages and misleading rumours” and advised students to continue attending classes. “Taking full cognisance of the adverse effect of misinformation on young, impressionable minds, the university administration cautions all its students not to fall prey to these fake messages and misleading rumours,” the statement read, advising students to attend classes keeping in view the upcoming mid-semester examinations. While the university emphasised that classes will continue as per schedule, it said that a committee has been set up to investigate how the images and personal details of 17 students were made public. The panel will “determine the facts and identify the miscreants, individuals or organisations involved” before taking action, the statement said.
A notice, purportedly issued by JMI — identifying 17 protesters allegedly involved in the demonstration on February 10 — was found pasted across campus on Friday. It had mentioned a “list of active students who organised a protest without permission on February 10 at 5 pm at JMI’s central canteen”. Accusing the JMI of violating their privacy, students had claimed the purported notice included names of the 17, their photographs, IDs, addresses and political affiliations.
“The university removed these photos from the walls immediately after getting information about it,” the JMI statement said, adding that it “strongly condemns such brazen and irresponsible acts” and “intends to pursue legal action against those responsible”.
The students have been protesting since February 10 against administrative actions, including showcause notices issued to two PhD students for allegedly sloganeering “without permission or intimation to university authorities” during a “CAA-NRC Remembrance Day” event last December. On Thursday, the Delhi Police had detained and later released around 12 protesting students.
The suspension notice, issued by JMI’s proctorial department to several students on February 12, read: “…on 10.02.2025, you were identified as leading an unruly and rowdy group of individuals to vandalise and deface university property. Furthermore, on 11.02.2025, you again participated in an unauthorised and unlawful protest within the JMI campus, disrupting the normal functioning of the university…”
It alleged that their actions “constitute offences” under sections 324 (mischief causing damage to property) and section 189 (unlawful assembly) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Delhi Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The JMI, in a statement on Thursday, had stated that protests had disrupted academic activities and resulted in property damage, including vandalising the central canteen and breaking the gate of the security advisor’s office. The students had contended that these accusations were baseless, and part of an ongoing effort by the administration to silence calls for campus rights, including improved hygiene, better food, and academic freedom.
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