Jamia sets union poll deadline; students reported to end 18-day protest that moved classes online

Updated October 30. The protest was reported over on the night of October 29: the Registrar's office ordered that the students' union constitution be approved by May 15, 2027, that elections follow within six weeks of the session starting in July 2027, and that protest-related disciplinary action be revoked, and Mathrubhumi, Asianet Newsable and DNA India report that students called off the hunger strike (The New Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, Asianet Newsable, DNA India). Before that, students rejected an October 26 order promising polls 15 days after approval, police imposed Section 163 orders outside the campus, online classes were extended to November 24 and a second FIR was registered (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express). The FIR over the MPs' visit is reported as naming two Congress MPs by Scroll.in, Hindustan Times and India Today, where this piece first said three (Scroll.in, Hindustan Times, India Today), and Hindustan Times (November 2) and DNA India (Monday) say offline classes resume, which the October 28 order does not say (Hindustan Times, DNA India, The New Indian Express).

Jamia Millia Islamia moved all classes online until further notice on Saturday, October 24, the 13th day of a protest demanding the restoration of the students' union, and closed campus gates, libraries and canteens (The Hindu, Mathrubhumi, Odisha Bytes). The announcement followed a confrontation at the protest site, where students and security guards clashed as staff tried to remove tents, including those of hunger strikers (O Heraldo, Scroll.in). The university described the online shift as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety and security of bonafide students (Mathrubhumi, Odisha Bytes, The Economic Times). The online arrangement was then extended to November 8 and, on October 28, to November 24 (The Times of India, The New Indian Express).

What every report agrees on

As of October 24 and 25, all reports described an ongoing agitation at the university over the students' union, dissolved since 2006, with students on an indefinite hunger strike since October 12 (The Indian Express, Mint). The administration rusticated law student Ebin Basil for a year and suspended two others, Jasim Khan and Mohd Ilmaan (The Indian Express). It later constituted a seven-member high-level committee to engage with the protesters and examine their demands (The New Indian Express, The Indian Express), and a panel began drafting a new union constitution while students pressed for an official election schedule (The Times of India). On October 24 the university shifted all classes online, citing student safety (Mathrubhumi, Odisha Bytes, The Economic Times). Delhi Police detained Congress MP Imran Masood after he visited the campus (DNA India, The Times of India, Hindustan Times), and Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi said police pushed and manhandled him before releasing him (The Times of India, Hindustan Times). The university then lodged a complaint accusing MPs of trespass, and police registered an FIR at Jamia Nagar police station on October 25, though reports differ on how many MPs it names, as set out below (Kashmir Reader, Asianet Newsable, Republic World).

How the left-leaning press told it

Scroll.in, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The New Indian Express and Hindustan Times: Students' account of crackdown

Left-leaning outlets led on the students' account of the campus confrontation. Scroll.in reported that the online shift came soon after students alleged the administration attacked hunger strikers and tried to dismantle the protest site (Scroll.in), and The Hindu reported that protesting students and the All India Students' Association said staff tried to forcibly remove them, with an AISA member accusing staff and professors of dragging students (The Hindu). The Indian Express and The New Indian Express, both rated centre-left, had earlier framed the high-level committee as a move by the administration to engage with the hunger strikers (The Indian Express, The New Indian Express). Hindustan Times led on the detention of the two MPs outside the campus (Hindustan Times).

How the right-leaning press told it

India Today, The Times of India, ABP Live, The Economic Times and Republic World: Slogan row and detentions

Outlets rated centre-right carried a mix of readings. India Today led on graffiti reading Free Kashmir and references to Sharjeel Imam on university walls, and on the BJP questioning the presence of a Congress leader on campus, noting the clash with guards and the online shift further down (India Today). The Times of India led on the detention of Imran Masood and the manhandling alleged by MP Mohibbullah Nadvi (The Times of India), while ABP Live reported the online shift as a precautionary step and carried SFI's allegation that women students were dragged (ABP Live). The Economic Times set out the university notice and the students' demands (The Economic Times); Republic World, rated right, reported the FIR against Congress and SP MPs following the university's complaint, though later reports named two Congress MPs (Republic World).

How the centre told it

Mint: Demands and deepening distrust

Mint, rated centre, set out the students' demands in detail: restoration of the union, an election timeline, withdrawal of disciplinary action and the removal of the Chief Proctor and Security Advisor (Mint). It reported the university's stated reason for the online shift alongside protesting students' statement that the decision deepened their distrust of the administration (Mint).

What the record shows

The university's notice said classes for all courses would be held online with immediate effect until further notice, citing the prevailing situation and student safety (The Economic Times, Odisha Bytes). AISA alleged an unprovoked crackdown by the administration, which rejected the claim (O Heraldo); SFI alleged women students were dragged (ABP Live). Registrar Mahtab Alam Rizvi said Congress MPs Imran Pratapgarhi and Imran Masood disturbed the campus by entering over a wall, while Pratapgarhi said the administration was trying to intimidate the protesters (O Heraldo). Masood said attempts were being made to crush students' rights and distanced himself from the Free Kashmir and Free Sharjeel Imam posters, saying Kashmir is an integral part of India (DNA India). The Sentinel reported that more than 1,500 teaching and non-teaching staff met with Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Rizvi after four rounds of talks and an appeal by the committee urging students to end the protest (The Sentinel). On Sunday, October 25, four students continued the hunger strike amid heavy security, with access through Gate No. 7 restricted and students saying they were barred from carrying in water and food (The Siasat Daily). The university's trespass complaint named Masood, Pratapgarhi and others and alleged incitement; one report said Delhi Police had not responded to the complaint at that stage (Kashmir Reader), while later reports said an FIR was registered at Jamia Nagar police station on October 25 (Asianet Newsable and Republic World said against three MPs; see below) (Asianet Newsable, Republic World). Who initiated the confrontation at the protest site is not settled in the reports.

What has happened since October 25

The first deal and its rejection (October 25 to 26). After a meeting on Sunday night, the university said the protest would end by "mutual understanding", while Scroll.in noted that the students had not confirmed it (Scroll.in). Outlook reported that students had ended the protest (Outlook). The Registrar's October 26 order said elections would be held 15 days after approval of the union constitution, revoked suspensions and show-cause notices issued during the protest, and provided for an inquiry into the conduct of security staff (The Hindu). The Times of India reported that the agreement also asked students to apologise for "defamatory" statements, and that three of the five hunger strikers broke their fast and then said they had been misled (The Times of India).

Students rejected the order on Monday as ambiguous because it set no date for approving the constitution (Hindustan Times). They asked for approval by December 20, an election schedule within 15 days of it, withdrawal of all notices, the Chief Security Advisor's resignation and no apology (The New Indian Express). A university official told The Times of India it was "surprising" that the hunger strike resumed (The Times of India). By Monday night two hunger strikers, Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan, were still fasting (The New Indian Express), and the university served a notice to vacate the Gulistan-e-Ghalib building and Ghalib Lawn, warning of disciplinary and legal action (The Times of India).

Police, Section 163 and detentions. Deputy Commissioner of Police Vineet Kumar said at least 20 students were detained on Monday as they tried to climb gates (The Hindu); The Indian Express, citing police officers, said more than 40 were briefly detained (The Indian Express). Delhi Police imposed Section 163 of the BNSS around the campus on Tuesday, October 27 (The Hindu, India Today). Students told The Hindu that more than 70 students had been detained since October 12 (The Hindu), and The Quint reported detainees' allegations of assault, which a senior police official called "completely baseless" (The Quint).

Three people, including Niranjan KS and Munna Qureshi, were sent to three days' judicial custody after being detained on October 26, under preventive provisions (BNSS sections 126 and 170) that Newslaundry says are not an FIR (Newslaundry); The Hindu called them arrests (The Hindu). Delhi Police detained two NSUI members, Faizan and Zeeshan (Zishan in The Hindu), on October 28 (India Today, The Hindu), and The New Indian Express reported that both were sent to three days' judicial custody in Tihar jail (The New Indian Express).

Talks. On Tuesday, October 27, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi said negotiations were under way. Students said two rounds with university delegations ended in deadlock, and a university official said a constitution "cannot be made in haste" (The Indian Express). India Today reported that Joshi announced a seven-member high-level committee of deans and professors to examine the students' demands (India Today); the reports we read do not say whether this is the same body the university formed on October 19. A student delegation asked for the election process to be completed by February 5, and the administration said it needed more time (The Hindu).

Teachers and the vandalism allegation. A university statement issued on October 27 said Jamia teachers, at an October 26 meeting of deans and heads of departments, defended the Registrar's order, said the current administration was the first in two decades to take concrete steps towards restoring the union, and criticised what they called political interference (The Economic Times, Mathrubhumi). The reports we read describe a university statement and do not name a teachers' association. On October 28 the university alleged overnight vandalism, including the fall of Gate 4C, stone-pelting and damage to the CCTV control room (The Indian Express, The Hindu). Delhi Police said at that point that no complaint had been filed (The Indian Express), and protesters denied the allegation and said the administration had staged it (The Hindu). A second FIR, against unidentified persons, was registered at Jamia Nagar police station on October 29 on the university's complaint (The New Indian Express, Republic World).

The FIR over the MPs' visit. The Times of India reported the October 25 FIR cites Imran Pratapgarhi allegedly breaking the lock of Gate 4A on October 21 and Imran Masood allegedly scaling a wall on October 23, and that the complaint mentions SP MP Mohibbullah Nadvi as detained on his way to the campus (The Times of India). Scroll.in, Hindustan Times and India Today reported it as against two Congress MPs (Scroll.in, Hindustan Times, India Today), while Outlook, citing police sources, listed three including Nadvi (Outlook). An earlier Times of India report said no one was named as a suspect in the FIR and that a defacement section had been added over the "Free Kashmir" graffiti, which protesters denied writing (The Times of India).

Classes, libraries and hostels. The October 26 order kept classes online to November 8 and moved mid-term exams online (The Times of India). On October 28 a new office order extended online classes to November 24, moved end-semester exams online and set even-semester classes to begin on January 13, 2027 (The New Indian Express, India Today). On October 26 The Indian Express reported the canteen and library still shut (The Indian Express), and a university official told PTI on October 28 that libraries and other campus activities were suspended and that hostels might be closed within two days (The Free Press Journal). Students told The Hindu the mess had been ordered to close from November 1 (The Hindu). No report we read describes the libraries reopening.

The October 29 order. On Thursday the Registrar's office ordered that approval and implementation of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students' Union constitution be completed by May 15, 2027, that an election notification follow under the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines with polls within six weeks of the session start, and that all show-cause notices, disciplinary actions, rustications, suspensions and campus bans linked to the protest be revoked (The New Indian Express, The Indian Express, Asianet Newsable). The Indian Express gives the session start as July 15 and The New Indian Express and Asianet Newsable as July 16. DNA India and India Today put the polls in late August 2027 (DNA India, India Today). The order followed a request letter from the hunger-striking students (Asianet Newsable). The New Indian Express noted the date is nearly five months after the December 20 the students had sought (The New Indian Express).

Mathrubhumi, Asianet Newsable, DNA India and India Today reported that the students called off the protest and hunger strike (Mathrubhumi, Asianet Newsable, DNA India, India Today). The Siasat Daily wrote that university officials did not immediately confirm the order and that students said any decision to call off would be taken collectively (The Siasat Daily). Hindustan Times said offline classes resume on Monday, November 2, and DNA India said offline classes and examinations resume from Monday (Hindustan Times, DNA India), and India Today's headline said classes would resume from Monday while its video summary said offline classes and examinations would resume after the festive break (India Today, India Today). The order text quoted by the other outlets does not mention classes, and the October 28 order, reported by The New Indian Express, set no campus classes before January 13.

Which day. Reports counted from October 12, which makes October 24 the 13th day as this piece said. The Times of India called October 25 the 14th day (The Times of India), The Indian Express called October 26 the 15th (The Indian Express), The Hindu called October 27 the 16th and October 28 the 17th (The Hindu, The Hindu), and Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express and Republic World called October 29 the 18th (Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Republic World). The Hindu's October 26 report said students had been protesting since October 11 (The Hindu). Reports also differ on how the hunger strike started: The Indian Express, The Hindu and The Times of India said five students began it on October 12 (The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Times of India), while Alt News said two began it and others joined within days (Alt News).

Drafted by the Alethman engine from 19 independent reports, and checked by an editor before publication. An outlet's side comes from published media-bias ratings (Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides) or documented ownership, named under the coverage bar; Alethman does not rate outlets itself.