The institution, born in the freedom movement, now questions its own students as notices issued for a peaceful memorial, raising fears about dissent, rights, and justice on campus
NEW DELHI — Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), a university founded during the freedom struggle and known for teaching courage, debate, and resistance to injustice, is facing serious questions after issuing show-cause notices to at least 15 students for attending a peaceful memorial meeting on campus.
The notices were sent days after students gathered on December 15 to remember the police action of 2019, when Delhi Police entered the campus during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). That action, captured in widely shared videos, showed students being beaten, a library damaged, and young people chased and injured inside an educational space.
Students say the memorial was calm, quiet, and respectful. They lit candles, spoke briefly, and remembered those who received injuries. No damage was reported. No violence took place. Yet the university administration has asked students to explain why they attended what the notices describe as an “unauthorised gathering”.
For many students, most of them Muslims, the move has reopened old wounds and raised fresh fears. “This university once taught us to ask questions,” said a postgraduate student who received a notice. “Now we are being punished for remembering our own history.”
On December 15, 2019, Jamia Millia Islamia became the centre of a national outcry. Students were protesting against the CAA, a law many Muslims see as discriminatory and against the Constitution. As protests grew outside the campus, police entered Jamia without permission from the university authorities, students say.
Inside the campus, police used batons and tear gas. Several students were injured. One student suffered serious eye injuries and almost lost his eyesight. Videos showed police entering the library, beating students who were studying, and breaking furniture. The images shocked the country.
Six years later, students say justice has not arrived.
“Not a single officer has been punished,” said a former student who was injured in 2019. “Cases are pending, inquiries are silent, and our pain is treated like it does not matter.”
It was this memory that students recalled on December 15 this year. They say the memorial was not a protest but an act of remembrance.
“We were not shouting slogans. We were not blocking roads,” said a research scholar. “We were remembering our friends who were beaten up. Is memory now a crime?”
The show-cause notices were issued on December 18, three days after the memorial. Students say the timing and language show an effort to scare them.
“The notice asks why action should not be taken against us,” said one undergraduate student. “It feels like a threat.”
Student groups on campus say the notices send a clear message: keep quiet or face action.
“These notices are meant to frighten students, especially Muslims,” said a member of a student organisation. “They want to silence questions about 2019 and about the CAA.”
Students point out that the right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed by the Constitution.
“We are citizens first,” said another student. “We have the right to speak, to remember, and to disagree.”
Several students told Clarion India that the atmosphere on campus has become tense. They say fear has replaced free discussion.
“A simple complaint can land you in trouble,” said a student from the humanities department. “People think twice before speaking.”
Students also raised concerns about daily problems on campus. They spoke about poor facilities, lack of clean toilets, shortage of drinking water, and high prices at canteens.
“There is no price list at canteens,” said a student. “Food is costly, and if you complain, you are warned.”
Some students accused security staff of rough behaviour.
“Guards have hit students during arguments,” said one student, speaking anonymously. “When we complain, we are told to stay silent or face consequences.”
Students have named senior officials while sharing their concerns. They allege that the Vice Chancellor, Proctor, and Chief Proctor do not listen to student issues and respond with strict action instead.
“They see students as a problem, not as part of the university,” said a research scholar.
Attempts were made to contact Chief Proctor Dr Asad Malik for his response. No reply was received till the filing of this report. The university administration has not issued a public statement explaining the notices in detail.
Students say this silence adds to their fear. “If the administration believes it is right, why not speak openly?” asked a student leader.
Many students feel that Muslim voices are being singled out. Jamia Millia Islamia has a large Muslim student population and has often been at the centre of debates on minority rights. “Whenever Muslims speak about injustice, they are treated as troublemakers,” said a student from Kashmir. “Our pain is seen as politics.”
Students pointed out that the 2019 protests were not only about a law but about dignity and equality. “The CAA debate was about our future,” said a law student. “We feared being treated as second-class citizens.”
They say the notices ignore this context and paint students as wrongdoers.
Jamia Millia Islamia was founded in 1920 during the non-cooperation movement. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, and Dr Zakir Husain were linked with its early years. The university stood against British rule and taught students to think freely.
“This place was built on resistance,” said a senior academic, requesting anonymity. “Punishing students for peaceful remembrance goes against that spirit.”
Alumni have also expressed concern. Some former students shared messages on social media, saying Jamia is losing its soul.
“Jamia taught us to stand with the weak,” wrote an alumnus. “Today, it seems afraid of its own students.”
Legal experts say the notices raise serious questions.
“If the gathering was peaceful and caused no damage, the administration must explain the basis of action,” said a Delhi-based lawyer. “Universities are spaces for debate, not fear.” He added that the right to expression applies on campuses too.
Students say they will respond to the notices but are unsure about the outcome. “We will write our replies,” said one student. “But we know the power is not with us.”
Student groups have demanded that the notices be withdrawn without delay. They say the administration should focus on justice for 2019, not punishment in 2025.
“Withdraw the notices and talk to us,” said a student representative. “That is all we ask.”
They also want the university to support students who were injured in 2019 and push for accountability.
“Jamia should stand with its students, not against them,” said another student.
For many observers, the issue goes beyond one university. They see it as part of a wider pattern where Muslim dissent is viewed with suspicion.
“When Muslims protest, they are labelled,” said a civil rights activist. “When others do the same, it is called democracy.”
Students at Jamia say they feel this double standard every day.
“We love this country,” said a student. “We are asking for fairness, not favour.”
As students prepare their replies to the notices, questions remain unanswered. Why was a peaceful memorial called unauthorised? Why are memories being punished? Why has justice for 2019 still not been delivered?
A student summed up the mood on campus in simple words: “They beat us in 2019. They ignored us after that. Now they want to silence us. But we will not forget.”
For a university born out of a fight for freedom, the coming days may decide whether Jamia Millia Islamia chooses fear or faith in its own students.
