Jamia rusticates one, suspends two after hunger strike for students' union

A long-running demand to bring back the students' union at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi turned into a confrontation on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Students who had been on an indefinite hunger strike since October 12, asking for the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union (JMISU) to be restored and its elections resumed, were removed from their protest site before dawn. The university then rusticated one student for a year and suspended two others. Student groups say the hunger strikers were manhandled and dragged out; the university says the group was outside the approved protest area and has described its action as self-defence. The campus has since been closed for five days, which the university attributed to upcoming festivals.

Student unions are the main elected voice of students on most large Indian campuses. They negotiate over hostel rules, fees, exam schedules and campus safety, and they are often the training ground for young people who later enter public life. Jamia, a central university with students from across India, has been without an elected union for two decades, and the hunger strike was an attempt to force the issue.

The two sides tell very different stories about what happened on October 17. The All India Students' Association, one of the groups backing the strike, says campus lights were switched off and students were beaten and dragged out before being handed to the police. The National Students' Union of India says around 60 security guards came to the site with the chief proctor and the security adviser and removed the students' beds and tarpaulin. The university's position is that the protesters were outside the area set aside for protests and that its staff acted in self-defence. These accounts have not been independently settled, and student groups have demanded an independent inquiry and the chief proctor's resignation.

There is, however, a small opening. A university official said the administration did not have an in-principle objection to restoring the students' union, adding that a committee would need to look at the question, including safeguards against violence, and that no formal memorandum had been submitted to start the process. That suggests a route for talks, if both sides choose to use it.

Short-term: With the campus shut for five days, classes and campus protests are on hold. The three students facing disciplinary action may challenge the orders, and student groups have said they will keep pressing for the union, withdrawal of the action and an inquiry.

Long-term: The question is whether Jamia sets up the committee its official mentioned and agrees a timeline for union elections. If it does, the university could join other central universities that hold regular student polls. If not, the dispute is likely to return whenever the campus reopens.

Who is affected: Jamia's students, who have had no elected union since 2006; the three students facing rustication or suspension and their families; teachers and staff whose classes are disrupted; and the wider debate on student rights at central universities.

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