New Delhi, Oct 19 (IANS) The Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) has constituted a 7-member committee to engage with the protesting students demanding the revival of the students’ union elections that were banned in 2006 following violence – a decision that has withstood several challenges in the Delhi High Court, an official said on Monday.
The committee, comprising Deans and Professors, has been tasked by Vice Chancellor Mazhar Asif to examine the students’ demands and take necessary steps towards restoring peace and ensuring a return to normalcy on the campus, said JMI Chief Public Relations Officer Saima Saeed in a statement.
The committee was formed after a meeting of senior university functionaries on Sunday evening to deliberate on the demands raised by students who have been sitting on a hunger strike and staging protests, Saeed said.
A group of Jamia students had launched a hunger strike on October 12, demanding the restoration of the students’ union and withdrawal of the alleged suspension of agitators by the university.
Vice Chancellor Asif chaired the meeting on Sunday, attended by Registrar Md. Mahtab Alam Rizvi; Controller of Examinations Ahteshamul Haque; Deans of Faculties, Dean of Students’ Welfare, Dean, Academic Affairs; Chief Proctor; Provosts of all Hostels; Chief Public Relations Officer and other officials, said the statement.
The University administration remains committed to resolving the matter through constructive dialogue and deliberation, grounded in mutual trust and understanding and seeks the same spirit of cooperation from the protesting students and other stakeholders, it said.
It is worth noting that union elections were dissolved in JMI in 2006, following recurrent incidents of violent clashes, attacks on teachers, and the occasional disruption of classes during that period, said the statement.
In the intervening years, in view of the well-documented history of violent disruptions and frequent shutting down of the campus, the courts have issued no directions to the university, it said.
Most recently, in 2022, the High Court accepted the argument and submission of the Standing Counsel, JMI, and disposed of the matter, giving no directions to the university to conduct elections of the Students’ Union, in light of the rampant history of violent clashes on campus in and after 2006, it said.
“Nonetheless, the present administration, which assumed office in October 2024, remains committed to finding an amicable resolution to the two-decade-old impasse,” said the statement.
The University said it is also important to place on record that the JMI has instituted a robust and democratic system of subject association elections in each of its departments and centres.
“Under this system, students vote by secret ballot to elect three office-bearers, namely, the Vice President, General Secretary, and Joint Secretary in their respective departments and centres. This system has served the students very well through these past years,” said the statement.
The administration reiterates that collaboration is essential to fostering and conserving peace and harmony on campus and ensuring that the academic environment remains conducive and enabling for all students, faculty members, and staff, said the statement.
The present administration calls upon all stakeholders and students to work towards safeguarding the name, reputation, and high national and international ranking of the 106-year-old university, it said.
–IANS
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