The struggle for the restoration of a democratically elected students’ union at Jamia Millia Islamia is far from over. On Monday, October 26, even as the university administration issued an order promising elections within 15 days of the approval of a new union constitution, two students, Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan, refused to call off their hunger strike, maintaining that the administration had failed to address their core demands.
Jamia’s hunger strike is far from over. Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan will continue their fast as students reject all three points in the administration’s October 26 order. They allege they were pressured into signing an agreement at 3 am. No firm election date, no clear assurance on revoking ALL suspensions, and a demand for public apology. “We protested peacefully, in a Gandhian way. Why should we apologise?” students ask. After 14 days of struggle, the standoff continues.
The two from left are Rehan and Ebin – who will continue their hunger strike while Jasim and Faizan will have to discontinue because of their medical conditions.
#JamiaMilliaIslamia@santwana99
@NewIndianXpress— Ifrah Mufti (@ifrahmufti) October 26, 2026
Delhi: Some students at Jamia Millia Islamia continue their hunger strike despite an agreement signed with the university administration overnight. The protesting students allege that some were persuaded to sign the agreement and say their original demands remain unmet. Those opposed to the agreement continue their protest
— IANS (@ians_india) October 26, 2026
Delhi: Security personnel have been deployed outside Jamia Millia Islamia as some students continue their hunger strike despite an agreement being signed between the university administration and students overnight. Protesters allege that some students were persuaded to sign the agreement and say their original demands remain unmet. Students opposing the agreement have continued their protest
— IANS (@ians_india) October 26, 2026
The order, issued by the Office of the Registrar, came after nearly a fortnight of sustained protests, hunger strikes, police deployment, detentions and mounting pressure from students and supporters across university campuses. A day before, the students were also alleged assaulted by police officers. Yet, instead of bringing the agitation to a close, its conditional terms have deepened the impasse.
Office of the Chief Public Relations Officer, JMI https://t.co/S0ydd6j8xo
— Jamia Millia Islamia (NAAC A++ Grade Central Univ) (@jmiu_official) October 26, 2026
According to the notice, the university has agreed to hold elections 15 days after the constitution is approved, revoked suspension and show-cause notices issued during the protest, and promised an inquiry into the conduct of security personnel. However, the order also requires protesting students to publicly apologise for alleged defamatory remarks and actions against the administration and remove related social media posts. For the protesting students, the central problem remains unresolved: the administration has offered no definite deadline for drafting and approving the constitution, leaving the election schedule contingent on a process with no specified completion date.
In view of the same, Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan would continue their hunger strike after students rejected all three points in the October 26 order. The students alleged that they had been pressured into signing an agreement at around 3 am, with the university’s conditions failing to provide the assurances they had sought. The demand for the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Chief Proctor has also not been addressed. While two hunger strikers are continuing their fast, Jasim Khan and Faizan are expected to discontinue theirs because of their medical conditions, according to the account shared by Mufti.
The administration’s order thus offers a partial response to the agitation while leaving crucial questions about accountability, disciplinary action and the timeline for restoring elected student representation unanswered.
A campus increasingly marked by restrictions
The announcement followed two weeks of escalating tension on campus, with the administration and security personnel repeatedly attempting to contain the agitation. As reported by The Indian Express, Sunday, October 25, saw more than 500 students gather in support of the protest amid a heavy security deployment. Students alleged that access to the protest site, the library and the canteen had been restricted, while university gates were closed and students were prevented from entering the campus. Security personnel from the Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police were deployed in and around the university.
The BJP govt, Delhi Police & Jamia admin are working tirelessly & brutally to break JMI’s resolve.
Yesterday students were attacked, today ID card carrying students were prevented from entering their own campus and detained.
The only people working harder are Godi media dalaals!
But students of JMI remain unshaken!
Salute and congratulations to them!Video: aisa_jamia (Instagram)
— Neha (@neha_aisa) October 25, 2026
Jamia staff vandalise protest site in bid to evacuate hunger strikers; students form human chain to shield them
Watch: https://t.co/PITELTAcKb
— Maktoob (@MaktoobMedia) October 24, 2026
The administration had shifted classes online on October 24, citing the prevailing situation and the need to ensure students’ safety. The move came amid allegations that protesters were being prevented from accessing campus facilities and that security personnel had attempted to dismantle their protest arrangements.
On Saturday, students alleged that a university delegation had attempted to dismantle their tents and take hunger strikers to hospital against their wishes. The five students on hunger strike subsequently moved into the Department of Political Science and locked themselves inside to prevent their removal.
The tensions intensified further on October 25, when students attempting to reach the protest site reportedly climbed campus walls, some of which were topped with metal spikes and rods. Students continued to organise marches and raise slogans despite the restrictions. The agitation also drew attention to allegations that access to food and water had been obstructed. By the time the administration issued its order on Monday, concerns about the physical condition of the hunger strikers had become increasingly urgent. Jasim Khan’s health deteriorated during the protest, and he was taken to hospital on the 14th night before returning to campus in the early hours of Monday, according to accounts of the agitation.
JUST IN | Students attempt to climb the gates to enter Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) as authorities restrict entry to the campus on Sunday, October 25, 2026. Heavy CRPF and police deployment and barricading are in place outside Gate No. 7, while students continue their protest inside the campus.
~@Shrimansi12 reports
Visuals: @Shrimansi12— The Hindu (@the_hindu) October 25, 2026
When the entire nation is sleeping,Jamia is awake. Jamia is awake as the pressure mounts on admin to declare the students’ union elections which has been stopped from 2006! https://t.co/BsiaFLYDAF
— SFI Delhi (@SfiDelhi) October 25, 2026
Students also alleged that they were dragged by police.
Students Dragged, Gate Closed, Inside Jamia Student Protest.
@_main_niraj @Shayan_Ash
Watch Full Ground Report on The Red Mike’s YouTube channel. https://t.co/g0LvOdKehX
— The Red Mike (@TheRedMike) October 25, 2026
Jamia #Protest: Admin has welded shut the main gate (Gate No. 7), which hostel residents use to enter the university.
This comes as students continue a hunger strike, demanding a firm date for the resumption of student polls. #Jamia https://t.co/qxo1zNaU4M
— Vishu Adhana (@vishu_reports) October 26, 2026
Delhi Police detained female students protesting outside Gate No. 7 of Jamia Millia Islamia amid ongoing demonstrations demanding the restoration of the students’ union. Visuals from the protest show police personnel removing demonstrators from the site. The detention comes as students continue their sit-in and hunger strike, now in its 14th day, pressing the university administration to restore elected student representation.
— Millat Times English (@Millat_English) October 25, 2026
A clash was reported at Jamia Millia Islamia as university staff allegedly moved to dismantle the students’ protest site. The students, on a sit-in and hunger strike demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU), allege they were assaulted by a university official.
— FOEJ Media (@FoejMedia) October 24, 2026
A promise of elections without a deadline
Jamia students began their agitation on October 11, with the hunger strike commencing on October 12, demanding the restoration of the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU), a definite election schedule and the withdrawal of disciplinary action against protesters. They also called for the removal of the university’s Chief Proctor and Security Advisor, citing the treatment of students during the agitation.
The union has remained defunct since 2006, with the last elections held in 2005. Nearly two decades without an elected students’ body have left successive batches of students without a formal representative platform to raise campus-wide grievances.
As The Indian Express reported on October 26, students had repeatedly rejected the administration’s position that a new constitution must first be drafted before elections can be scheduled. They argued that the constitution-drafting process should not become an indefinite obstacle to restoring the union and had sought elections by November 30.
The university, meanwhile, maintained that the process required the drafting of a constitution, preparation of electoral rolls and the subsequent announcement of an election date. An official told The Indian Express that the process could not be rushed after a gap of almost 20 years, particularly in view of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and changes in applicable University Grants Commission regulations.
The students, however, maintained that the administration had not offered a concrete, time-bound commitment. They cited the Supreme Court’s 2006 judgment in University of Kerala v. Council of Principals, Colleges, Kerala and the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations in support of their demand for a clear electoral roadmap.
The October 26 order has not resolved this dispute. By tying the election date to the approval of the constitution, without specifying when that approval must take place, the administration has left the most important deadline dependent on its own future decisions.
Detailed report may be read here.
Disciplinary action and apology demand fuel discontent
The order also addresses disciplinary action initiated during the agitation, but students have questioned the scope of the relief offered. While suspension and show-cause notices issued during the protest are to be revoked, protesters have pointed out that the order does not clearly guarantee the unconditional withdrawal of all disciplinary measures, including rustication and campus bans.
Ebin Basil, a third-year law student who has been among the hunger strikers, told The Indian Express that the order failed to address the position of students who had been rusticated or barred from campus. He also questioned the demand that protesters publicly apologise for their criticism of the administration. The apology clause has emerged as another major point of contention. The university has required students to issue a public apology at a press conference for alleged defamatory statements, actions or social media posts directed against the administration. The posts are to be removed immediately, with compliance monitored by the university.
Students have rejected this condition, arguing that their agitation was a peaceful campaign for democratic representation and accountability. Their refusal to apologise reflects a broader disagreement over the administration’s handling of dissent and its attempt to make the withdrawal of the protest conditional on public expressions of contrition.
The university has also directed that the agitation be called off immediately. But the continued hunger strike by Ebin and Rehan demonstrates that the written order has not secured the consent of all the protesters.
Protest draws political support, detentions and an FIR
The Jamia agitation has expanded beyond the immediate question of student elections, drawing support from political representatives, former students and university communities across the country.
Congress MP Imran Masood was detained by Delhi Police after visiting the protesting students, while Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah Nadvi alleged that police had pushed and manhandled him before detaining him as he travelled to meet the protesters. Nadvi was subsequently released.
The university also lodged a complaint against Congress MPs Imran Masood and Imran Pratapgarhi over their entry into the campus, leading to an FIR over allegations of trespass and related conduct, as reported by The Indian Express and other media outlets. The MPs had visited amid the ongoing agitation and demands for the restoration of the union and withdrawal of disciplinary action.
The struggle continues
The university’s October 26 order marks a significant development after 14 days of sustained agitation, but it does not signal the end of the confrontation. The absence of a fixed deadline for approving the union constitution, uncertainty over the full withdrawal of disciplinary action and the demand for a public apology remain central points of disagreement.
The administration has asked the students to end their protest and warned of legal action if they fail to vacate the protest site. According to Moneycontrol, the Registrar said the university would issue a formal notice giving protesters 30 minutes after 9 am to disperse, citing the undertaking signed by the students.
But Ebin Basil and Rehan Khan have continued their hunger strike, refusing to accept an order they believe falls short of their demands. Their position underscores the gap between the administration’s announcement and the protesters’ insistence on clear, enforceable commitments.
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