Jamia announces timeline for students’ union elections after 20 years, two-week protest ends

New Delhi: The Jamia Millia Islamia administration has announced a definite timeline for restoring the university’s students’ union, marking a significant step towards bringing back an elected representative body after a gap of two decades. The announcement brought an end to a two-week-long protest, with students hailing the decision as a “victory for our rights”. The absence of a clear timeline had been a major point of disagreement during an earlier attempt to resolve the agitation.

On the university’s 106th Foundation Day, the administration also announced that offline classes and examinations would resume on campus from November 8. Academic activities had been shifted online amid the protests.

According to an order issued by the Registrar’s Office on Thursday, the constitution of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) will be approved and implemented by May 15, 2027. Elections will subsequently be conducted within six weeks of the beginning of the next academic session, which is expected to commence around July 16, 2027.

The administration also agreed to withdraw all show-cause notices and disciplinary proceedings initiated against students during the agitation. Orders relating to suspension and expulsion, along with restrictions on students’ entry to the campus, will also be revoked.

The announcement was welcomed by protesting students, many of whom gathered to celebrate the decision. Several students also participated in events marking the university’s Foundation Day. Jamia was originally established in Aligarh during the freedom movement.

Ebin Basil, who had been on hunger strike for 18 days, described the development as a major achievement for the student community, saying it would be remembered as a historic moment in Jamia’s history. Rehan Mewati, another hunger-striking student who had been protesting for 15 days, said the truth had prevailed.

Why the earlier agreement failed

The latest breakthrough came after an earlier order issued by the Registrar on October 26 failed to satisfy the protesters. That order stated that elections would be held within 15 days of the approval of the students’ union constitution, but did not specify when the constitution itself would be finalised.

The hunger-striking students rejected the arrangement, arguing that it left the entire process without a definite deadline. They had demanded that the constitution be drafted and approved by December 20, followed by elections within 15 days.

Under Thursday’s revised schedule, however, the elections are expected to take place around mid-August 2027.

The JMISU was dissolved in 2006, and the university has not conducted students’ union elections since. The administration had justified the decision by citing a series of violent incidents, including an attack on the then Vice-Chancellor. It subsequently maintained that elections could not be organised because a petition concerning the matter was pending before the Delhi High Court from 2012. Students, however, had questioned this justification.

The latest agitation began more than two weeks ago, following a similar movement at Aligarh Muslim University in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. The AMU administration agreed to restore students’ union elections after a 19-day hunger strike and announced that polling would be held on November 5.

Dispute over disciplinary action

The withdrawal of disciplinary measures was another significant point in the negotiations between the Jamia administration and the protesters.

The October 26 order had revoked suspension orders and show-cause notices issued during the protest but did not address students who had been rusticated or barred from entering the campus. These were among the key demands raised by the protesters.

The earlier settlement also included conditions requiring protesting students to apologise publicly at a press conference for statements, actions and social media posts considered defamatory towards the administration. Students were also asked to remove such posts from their social media platforms. The order further directed them to immediately call off the agitation.

The protesters rejected these conditions, maintaining that students should not be compelled to apologise for exercising their right to peaceful protest.

Earlier, on October 23, the committee tasked with drafting the students’ union constitution had argued that announcing elections immediately would be premature, as the university did not yet have an approved constitution or an established electoral framework.