Jamia students stage a protest against the university over the cancellation of activist Safoora Zargar’s admission.

Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) students staged a protest on Tuesday over the admission cancellation of activist Safoora Zargar. According to the students, the university administration is targeting Safoora as she was at the forefront of many protests.

Safoora Zargar was arrested in 2022 in a case related to the riot in northeast Delhi. Her admission was canceled by the sociology department, citing “unsatisfactory” progress in her thesis work. 

In 2019, Zargar began her integrated MPhil/PhD program at the Department of Sociology. Zargar joined the demonstration along with a number of other student groups, such as the Campus Front of India, the Fraternity Movement, and the Students’ Islamic Organization of India (SIO).

SIO national secretary Rameses E. K. said that “There is no reason not to give her (Zargar) an extension. The university is intentionally targeting her and making her submission impossible. It is saying that her progress is not satisfactory, which is quite arbitrary”. 

In a notification released on August 26, 2022, the office of the dean, faculty of social science, said that Zarker did not submit her MPhil thesis within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters. According to the dean’s office, the decision to discipline her was based on a recommendation made by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5. The matter was approved by the department’s Board of Studies on August 22.