Students at Jamia Millia Islamia began a sit‑in in mid‑October, demanding the restoration of a student union that hasn't elected its body since 2006. The protest has drawn more than 1,500 faculty and staff, who joined the demonstrators in a show of solidarity.
On October 12, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) alleged that police had detained hundreds of protesting students outside Gate No. 7, and the university accused the authorities of targeting those demanding a union.
JMI lodged a formal complaint with Delhi Police, accusing Congress Lok Sabha MP Masood, Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi and a third MP of trespassing on campus during the agitation.
In an attempt to quell the unrest, Vice‑Chancellor Mazhar Asif and Registrar Md Mahtab Alam Rizvi led a march from the Ansari Auditorium lawns to Gate No. 7, where they spent two hours urging students to abandon the protest; the demonstrators refused.
The university has set up a seven‑member committee of professors to draft a new constitution for the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union and announced that disciplinary actions taken against students over October 12 will be reviewed; meanwhile, all classes have shifted online amid safety concerns.