India – RSF: Condemnation of Repression Against Student Protests

We hereby share a statement published by the Revolutionary Student’s Front (RSF), on October 25.

We, the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF), strongly condemn the repression of the protesting students of Jamia Millia Islamia and stand firmly in solidarity with their struggle to restore the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU). Since 12th October, students of Jamia Millia Islamia have been holding a sit-in protest and hunger strike demanding the restoration of their union, which has remained absent since 2006. Despite discussions with the High Level Committee (HLC), the administration has refused to announce a definite election schedule. Instead, it has constituted a committee to draft a union constitution by 20th December, without any student representatives or a fixed election date. On 17th October, at around 5:30 AM, university authorities attempted to forcibly evict sleeping protesters, including hunger strikers. A few days later, some university staff were seen vandalising the protest site, prompting students to form a human chain to protect their comrades on hunger strike. The administration has since offered only a review of disciplinary action while threatening further punishment against those who continue the protest. For twenty years, Jamia’s administration has denied students an elected union. Now, as students fight to reclaim this right, the administration has resorted to repression.

A students’ union is not a favour to be granted or withheld at the administration’s discretion. It is a platform for students to organise, resist arbitrary decisions and assert their rights. A committee without student representation, the absence of an election date, a conditional review instead of the unconditional withdrawal of disciplinary action, and threats against continued protest expose the administration’s attempt to demobilise the movement. The Chief Proctor, whose removal the students demand, cannot be entrusted with reviewing the very disciplinary actions they are protesting against. This is impunity disguised as procedure.

The repression at Jamia is a part of the wider political assault on students’ democratic rights and campus democracy. University administrations operate within the fascist state machinery, through which the state utilises universities to propagate ruling- class ideology and produce an obedient yet skilled labour force. When students organise against arbitrary authority, they face intimidation and repression. Instead of remaining accountable to students, university administrations misuse their institutional power to suppress dissent, protect their authority and appease the Brahminical Hindutva fascist BJP-RSS. In this way, educational institutions become instruments for enforcing obedience, while students fighting for their rights are treated as a threat. Today, we are witnessing similar incidents in various educational institutions across the country.

Revolutionary Students’ Front demands the immediate announcement of a time- bound schedule for the 2026-27 JMISU elections, the unconditional withdrawal of all disciplinary proceedings against the protesters, and the removal of the Chief Proctor and Security Advisor. All intimidation and attempts to forcibly evict the protesters must end immediately. The administration must ensure proper medical monitoring and ambulance access for the hunger strikers. We call upon all progressive, anti-fascist and democratic organisations and individuals to stand in solidarity with the struggling students of Jamia Millia Islamia. Their fight extends beyond the restoration of their union; it challenges the systematic suppression of student organising and democratic rights across educational institutions in the country. We must stand in their support.

Arghyajit
Spokesperson
Revolutionary Students’ Front