New Delhi: The protest demanding restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU) entered its 16th day on Tuesday, with students refusing to call off their agitation despite the university's decision to hold elections within 15 days of the approval of the union's constitution.
The protesting students have maintained that the administration must announce a definite date for the polls, which have not been held since 2006, and set a timeline for approving the constitution.
The agitation continued a day after the university issued an order stating that students' union elections would be held within 15 days of the approval of the union's constitution. The order also revoked suspension and show-cause notices issued to students during the ongoing protest and provided for a committee to inquire into the conduct of security staff during the agitation.
However, the students said the decision fell short of their demands, questioning the absence of a deadline for approving the constitution.
"Our first demand was that student union elections should be revived, and dates for polls be declared," Rehan Khan, one of the students on an indefinite hunger strike, had said on Monday.
The university has also issued an order to Khan late on Monday, asking him to immediately vacate the protest site, failing which legal action will be taken.
The university's order also stated that the protesting students had agreed to issue a public apology at a press conference for defamatory statements, actions or social media posts against the administration during the agitation. It directed that such posts be taken down immediately and said the protest would be called off following the issuance of the order.
On Monday, scuffles broke out between protesting students and paramilitary personnel as security was tightened on campus. Police personnel did not allow the students, who raised slogans against the administration, to enter the university after classes across all courses were shifted online amid tensions.
At a press conference organised by the Jamia Collective at Syeda Manzil in Jamia Nagar on Monday, alumni, members of the university's founding families, artists, lawyers and student representatives extended solidarity with the protesters and called for the restoration of democratic spaces on campus.
Representatives of NSUI, AISF, SFI, AIDSO, AISA and DISHA highlighted the students' demands and stressed the need for meaningful dialogue between the administration and the protesters.
Those who addressed the gathering included academician Siddiquur Rahman Kidwai, educationist Syeda Hameed and JMI alumna Sameena Mishra.
In a statement issued after the gathering, participants said students must have a representative platform to raise concerns, participate in university affairs and engage meaningfully in campus governance. They urged the administration to hold transparent discussions and take concrete steps to resolve the impasse.
Student representatives from the Students' Federation of India (SFI) also questioned the role of the university's security adviser, alleging that the post was being used to monitor students involved in protests, and raised concerns over the deployment of security personnel on campus.
The university had earlier announced the formation of a committee to draft the JMISU constitution and said disciplinary action initiated against students over protest-related issues would be reviewed.
It shifted classes across all courses to online mode on October 24, citing concerns over students' safety and security amid escalating tensions at the protest site.
Online classes will continue till November 8, after which the university will reevaluate the situation, according to a notice issued on Monday.