NEW DELHI: Several students on hunger strike demanding the restoration of Jamia Millia Islamia’s students’ union elections were allegedly forcibly removed from the campus before dawn Saturday, triggering a commotion and further protests. The university subsequently suspended and rusticated some protesters, prompting a sit-in outside the campus amid police deployment.The protesters were also served notice by the university administration Friday for allegedly inciting current and former students and outsiders to assemble at Ghalib Lawn, where the protest was being held, for congregational Friday prayers instead of offering namaz at nearby mosques. The notice warned that such gatherings could affect “campus discipline, peace and communal harmony”, and directed them to refrain from organising prayers at the site.Five students — Mohammad Jasim Khan, a postgraduate student of International Studies; Ebin Basil, a BA LLB student at the Faculty of Law; Rehan Haider, an MA Social Work student; Rehan Khan, a BA Geography student; and Faizan Ali Khan, a first-year MA Gender Studies student — began an indefinite hunger strike at Ghalib Lawn on Oct 12. They were demanding the restoration of students’ union elections.Jamia’s elected students’ union was disbanded in March 2006 following a dispute between student leaders and university authorities that escalated into violence.Protesters alleged that around 5:30 am Saturday, security personnel switched off the lights, manhandled students and dragged them out of the campus before handing them over to Delhi Police. The students were subsequently released.Videos that surfaced Saturday evening showed a large group of protesters shaking the university gate until it broke before storming into the campus, while police personnel attempted to disperse the crowd. Police said no one was detained and only some individuals who were trying to break the gate were removed.Ebin was rusticated for an academic year, while Jasim was suspended for six months, the students said. Faizan already faces disciplinary charges. Protesters demanded the resignation of the chief proctor, withdrawal of disciplinary orders and an independent inquiry into alleged use of force.A university official, who did not want to be named, said security personnel acted “in self-defence”, alleging that guards had been abused and their clothes torn.On the demand for elections, the university said it has ensured student representation by way of having elections at different university centres. “Since 2006, we have had subject associations, in which a representative for each centre is elected through voting. There is no question of students being without representation. This system works better than a centrally elected union,” the official said.
