Born out of a political crisis, Jamia Millia Islamia turned into a political hotspot yet again

• The Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi — which is home to over 20,000 students — has turned into a political hotbed ever since the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) broke at its premises.
  
• This was after the Indian government passed a bill that allows special treatment to non-muslim migrants — including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan — making them eligible for Indian citizenship.
  
• The university was originally established in Aligarh in 1920. It was recognised as a central university in 1988, after it was moved to Delhi from Aligarh.

The Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi — which is home to over 20,000 students — has turned into a political hotspot once again. This was after over a hundred students were injured in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that broke out at its premises.

Students across universities — Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Jadavpur University, IIT Bombay, University of Delhi — are coming together in support of the students at Jamia Millia Islamia after police activities.

They are protesting against the CAA which provides special treatment to non-Muslim migrants while giving Indian citizenship.

The Muslim minority is now agitated on the initiatives that exclude them from the government policies.

Political crisis and Jamia’s evolution

When India was under British rule, Mahatma Gandhi called for a boycott of the educational institutions under the colonial rule. This led to nationalist teachers and students joining hands to establish Jamia Millia Islamia University.

Maulana Mehmud Hasan, who was also a freedom fighter laid the foundation stone of the university at Aligarh.

The university was originally established in Aligarh in 1920. However, it was later recognised as a central university in 1988 by the foundation committee that included renowned nationalists and political leaders Abdul Majeed Khwaja and Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari.

Amid the intensifying political struggle, the foundation committee then decided to move the university to Delhi. “The Jamia has to run. If you are worried about its finances, I will go about with a begging bowl,” Gandhi had then said.

The Muslim community considered Jamia to be a threat to the Aligarh Muslim University back then. But now it is joining Jamia with protests across campuses in UP, Ahmedabad and Goa, demanding immediate withdrawal of CAA.

Deemed-to-be university to central university

In 1962, 42 years after its inception, the University Grants Commission (UGC) declared Jamia to be a ‘deemed to be university’ — which is an accreditation awarded to higher educational institutions in India, granting status of a university.

In 1988, it was declared as a central university. The institute now has an array of centres dedicated to research and technology programmes.

But the university students are known for the many causes it takes up. The students took social media by the storm over a debate on triple talaq with RSS and BJP leaders. In July 2019, Triple talaq which allows Muslim men to divorce their wives easily, was criminalised by the Indian government.

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