JMI to take disciplinary action against students who took part in stir for Safoora Zargar

NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) administration has issued show-cause notices to several students for participating in protests against Safoora Zargar's de-enrollment from the university. The development comes after the university cancelled the admission of scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, who was arrested during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, due to "unsatisfactory" progress in her thesis work.

Following the cancellation of her admission, JMI students staged protests against the administration and alleged that the university was targeting Zargar as she was at the forefront of several protests.

In a notice dated August 29, the JMI said, “No meeting/ gathering of students shall be allowed in any part of the campus without prior permission from the Proctor, failing which disciplinary action shall be taken against the erring students.”

Citing that the students staged protests on August 30 and September 6 near Central Canteen to support ex-student Safoora Zargar, the university directed students to explain in writing as to why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.

The university also asked them to submit their letter to the chief proctor before 5 pm on September 16, 2022. Failing to submit the explanation within the stipulated time will lead to disciplinary action against them, it said in the latest notice.

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Further, the notice said, “You have been found in the forefront of the unauthorized gatherings of students several times on the campus against irrelevant and objectionable issues, which disturbed the peaceful academic environment of the university.”

“The above said unlawful act is in gross violation of the Jamia’s rules and regulations and is viewed strictly the JMI authorities,” it added

Safoora Zargar enrolled with the Department of Sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme in 2019. In a notification dated August 26, the office of the dean, Faculty of Social Science, said Zargar did not submit her MPhil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters. The dean’s office said that the action was taken against as recommended by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5.