The Jamia standoff follows campus restrictions, an indefinite hunger strike and conflicting accounts of an earlier confrontation with university officials.
By PC Bureau / October 25, 2026
Tensions escalated at Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday as protesting students faced off with Delhi Police personnel near Gate No. 4, amid a mounting agitation demanding the restoration of student union elections that have remained suspended since 2006. Security was tightened around the entrance, which is commonly used to access the university hostel, while restrictions on campus entry added to the uncertainty.
The standoff followed the university administration’s decision on Saturday to suspend offline classes, shift teaching online and close campus gates and libraries until further notice. The administration said the measures were intended to protect students and ensure the continuity of academic activities, directing students across all courses to attend classes online and stay away from campus.
The agitation began on October 12, with students demanding the restoration of elections to the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU). Four students have been on an indefinite hunger strike, while a PhD scholar has been staging a sit-in at the Gulistan-e-Ghalib lawns.
Conflicting accounts of Saturday’s confrontation
The situation deteriorated further on Saturday when university staff and protesting students confronted each other at the hunger-strike site.
hUNDREDS OF teaching and non-teaching staff members gathered at the Ansari Auditorium lawns, joined by Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi, before marching towards Gate No. 7. The staff resolved to appeal to the protesters to vacate the site, restore normalcy and remove what the administration described as “objectionable slogans” painted on campus walls.
READ: Anti-Dam Fury Rocks Arunachal, Government Deploys RAF
According to the university, its representatives spent nearly two hours attempting to persuade the students to end their protest. The administration claimed that the students continued raising slogans and asked the staff members to leave. It further alleged that some protesters pushed security guards, teachers and other staff, prompting the delegation to withdraw.
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) Jamia unit disputed this account, alleging that university officials, including the proctor, registrar and security adviser, attempted to forcibly remove the hunger strikers. The organisation claimed that tents were dismantled and women students were dragged during the confrontation.
Protesting students have demanded the resignation of the chief proctor and security adviser over the alleged use of force.
A student present at the site said university officials, security personnel and faculty members attempted to remove the protesters’ tents after negotiations failed. According to the student, tensions escalated over the following 15 to 20 minutes, prompting five hunger strikers to move inside a department as other students tried to shield them.
The student also alleged that a heavy police presence outside the campus restricted entry and that some protesters were dragged away and detained. These allegations could not be independently verified from the information available.
The number of police personnel and RAF personnel outside Jamia is doubling up as tensions rise on the campus yet again. A large number of students, including women, have entered the campus through different gates. Sounds of clashes can be heard as crowds gather, with the situation appearing increasingly volatile.
@santwana99
@NewIndianXpress
#JamiaMilliaIslamia— Ifrah Mufti (@ifrahmufti) October 25, 2026
Students reject administrative measures
The university has made several attempts to resolve the dispute. A seven-member committee of professors has held four rounds of discussions with the protesters and appealed to them to call off the agitation.
On October 21, the administration notified the formation of a committee to draft a new JMISU constitution. A separate notification issued the same day stated that disciplinary proceedings initiated against students in connection with the protests that began on October 12 would be reviewed.
The SFI and other protesters, however, have described these measures as inadequate. Their demands include student representation on the constitution-drafting committee, a firm announcement of election dates within the current semester and the complete withdrawal of disciplinary proceedings against students involved in the agitation.
The administration has maintained that the Gulistan-e-Ghalib lawns near the Ghalib statue are not an authorised protest venue. It has designated Gate No. 18 as the official location for demonstrations.
The dispute now centres on whether the university will commit to a definite election timetable and ensure meaningful student participation in framing the union’s constitution. With hunger strikes continuing and campus restrictions in place, the standoff has raised fresh questions about student representation, disciplinary action and the handling of protests at one of Delhi’s prominent central universities.
