‘Protest is a democratic right. Declaring me out of bounds for participating in a peaceful gathering is dictatorial’
NEW DELHI — Jamia Millia Islamia has declared its campus out of bounds for a Hindi department PhD scholar for the remaining duration of his doctoral programme for “unnecessarily” organising a gathering and march inside the university in September.
The gathering was organised on September 19 to commemorate the anniversary of the 2008 Batla House encounter. By doing so, the scholar had “endangered the safety and security of university students, staff, and property”, a Jamia disciplinary committee said in the order dated November 20.
The scholar maintains that the university’s action is “undemocratic” and aimed at creating fear among students. “This action will only create fear among students and undermine academic freedom,” the scholar was quoted by media reports as saying on Thursday.
The university’s action comes two months after at least 12 students were briefly detained by Delhi Police during a march held near the campus to mark 17 years of the encounter that had claimed the life of a police official and killed two “terrorists” and remains a politically sensitive and contested event.
The scholar, currently in the fourth year of his PhD programme, has been asked to submit a ‘bond of good conduct’ and conduct all mandatory academic processes, including research advisory committee reviews and supervisor consultations, within the proctor’s office and that too with prior appointment.
The scholar has approximately two years of his programme remaining.
The disciplinary committee also declared him guilty of “causing nuisance and disturbing the semester examination this May and disturbing the peaceful academic and research environment of the university campus in August”.
The order further warns the scholar that any future violation of university rules will lead to “immediate withdrawal of permission and/or cancellation of PhD admission”.
The panel said it took “a lenient view” considering the scholar’s stage of research and the national resources invested in his education, stating that expulsion “will ruin his career as well as render the investment and efforts made so far in vain”.
The scholar was quoted by The Times of India as saying that the ban on him will severely restrict his academic access. “Because of this order, I can’t access the library, archive or meet professors freely. Even basic academic interactions now require a special permission note and can only happen at the proctor’s office,” he said.
The affected student continued: “Protest is a democratic right. Declaring me out of bounds for participating in a peaceful gathering is dictatorial. It sends a message that students should not raise their voice against university administration or its policies.”
