Hyderabad: Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday (October 28) condemned the violence during the student agitation at Jamia Millia Islamia and warned that the government would not tolerate 'hooliganism' or 'rowdy behaviour', as the protest demanding restoration of the campus students' union entered its 17th day.
The university released photographs of shattered windows and alleged that protesters forced their way into parts of the campus, damaging surveillance cameras and other property. Officials did not clarify what action was being taken over the alleged damage, and no statement on the matter has been issued yet. The administration has said polls will be held within 15 days of the students' union constitution being approved.
The agitation has shown no sign of easing. Students have refused to call off the protest despite that assurance, pressing instead for a firm election date and a deadline for ratifying the constitution.
"What happened at Jamia Millia Islamia is very unfortunate, and I strongly condemn it," Joshi said. He said the students' union has not gone to the polls since 2006, when a serious incident of violence led to the process being suspended. The minister was speaking about a campus standoff that has pitted students against the administration for over two weeks.
The minister said a seven-member committee of senior deans and professors had been constituted to go into the students' demands, and that they had been assured their concerns would be addressed. He also said the government would not tolerate 'hooliganism or rowdy behaviour by people who come wearing masks', and that a police complaint had been filed. Joshi urged the Delhi Police to take up the complaint seriously and investigate.
He said a demand for elections had been raised, but alleged that some people were also involved in activities against the university. Action was taken against those involved, he said, while acknowledging the allegation that innocent people had also been targeted.
The students' union has been defunct for two decades, and the current agitation is centred on reviving it. Besides a poll date, the protesters want the university to specify when it will ratify the union's constitution.
They called a Monday order by the university inadequate because it set no deadline for approving that document. The order promised elections within 15 days of approval, revoked the suspensions and show-cause notices issued to students during the agitation, and provided for an inquiry into the conduct of security personnel. The standoff remains unresolved, with the agitation now past a fortnight and no agreement in sight on a date for the polls. (with inputs from media agency)