It’s the first year past the centenary celebration at Jamia. As a part of the 101st celebration of its foundation, Jamia held a series of engagement activities, some of which were aimed at commemorating the founding members of this institution and their hard work in establishing a university of this stature.
On this occasion, a virtual exhibition was inaugurated at the M.F Hussain Art Gallery. Pictures of leaders including Zakir Hussain, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar were put up. This built a narrative for the audience to explore and relive the difficult times during the colonial rule and how these eminent personalities came together and fought for an ideology to build this academic center-Jamia Millia Islamia, against all odds.
However, presently, the Jamia admin continues to ignore and sideline its very own students who imbibe and put the values of the founding fathers into practice. And for which many continue to remain behind bars, implicated in cases for taking a stance against the state.
Pre-pandemic, the government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which many at Jamia and the entire country felt to be against the core secular values of the constitution. When the opposition parties chose to conveniently do nothing – the Jamia fraternity emerged as a strong opposition.
They raised their voice against the newly passed legislation. Like-minded students and citizens joined the movement from India and from across the world. All this very much aligned to the core values of the founding members of Jamia, whose pictures are put up ornamentally at the art gallery.
The anti-CAA movement witnessed some of the cruellest facets of the state, including police brutality captured on camera, gender-based violence and suppression of dissent.
15th December, 2019 was one such day when students and civil society members who wanted to take out a march protesting the bill were clamped down. The police force entered the Jamia campus, charging on students and even destroying the library (built with taxpayers money) to suppress dissent.
Despite promises made by the Vice-Chancellor to come strongly against the state for their actions, there was very little done in the court.
When the early February riots took place in northeast Delhi, student leaders who emerged during the movement were the first to be taken down with arrests. However, the Jamia administration did very little for its students or its alumni.
Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman and others have faced charges for close to two years now. It’s ironic for an institution to celebrate its 101st year, praising the leaders that built the university and at the same time being hypocritical, turning an ostrich to its students who stood the test of time, fighting for the very values these institution makers propagated.
With this scenario at play, I am sure Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar must be sad, Zakir Sahab must be upset, Mahatma Gandhi wouldn’t have joined this futile celebration. So I join them in expressing my dismay over the year on year hypocritical approach of the administration.
The truth will eventually emerge, Meeran will walk free, Shifa will walk free, Safoora will have charges dropped against her. Indeed, we shall celebrate then.