12k students, 800 gold medallists: Jamia holds first convocation post pandemic

Among the students eligible to get their degree from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) during its centenary convocation ceremony Sunday was student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha, whose six-semester exams were cut short following his arrest in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case. Tanha (27) was arrested in the main conspiracy case filed under the UAPA. He […]

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Asif Tanha was among those eligible to get the degree. He was not there to receive it

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Among the students eligible to get their degree from Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) during its centenary convocation ceremony Sunday was student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha, whose six-semester exams were cut short following his arrest in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case. Tanha (27) was arrested in the main conspiracy case filed under the UAPA. He was granted bail in the case by the Delhi High Court in 2021.

This was JMI’s first convocation after the pandemic and around 12,500 students completed their courses in the interim, including around 800 gold medallists and PhD students, the university said.

While Tanha could not collect his degree, he reflected on how he managed to finish his course while in jail for 13 months. He had enrolled in the BA (Honors) Persian course at Jamia in 2017.

“I was arrested in May 2020 due to which I missed out on appearing for three exams in my sixth semester. When we were called for investigation in April that year, I wanted to make sure I could finish as many assignments as possible in case I ended up in jail,” he said.
“I prepared for one of my exams from jail and appeared for it when I was granted relief by the court in June 2021 for 15 days,” he added.

He also said access to material was limited, which led to his scores dropping. “My classmates would send notes through my lawyers… but preparing in jail was difficult. There were no teachers to clarify doubts… As I was studying a language, I needed a dictionary but not much material was allowed inside the jail. It was limited to texts included in the syllabus,” added Tanha.

Tanha is now working as a researcher with the Association of Protection of Civil Rights. He hails from Jharkhand. His father was a teacher in a private school and mother a housewife.

The Indian Express also spoke to gold medallists who received awards on the occasion. Among them was Sadaf Zareen (29), who received the medal for being the 2020 batch topper in Mass Communication.
“It feels good to come back to my alma mater after three years, meet friends, teachers and staff who have been part of my journey in Jamia. In a way, this medal is not just mine, it belongs to everyone I collaborated with on different group projects. It’s also a matter of great pride for my parents and family who watched a live stream of the ceremony,” said Zareen, who hails from Delhi and currently works as an associate producer at a media firm in Mumbai.

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Zareen’s father is an engineer and her mother a retired public school teacher. This is her second masters degree. Her first was in Modern Indian History from Delhi University.

Vidheesha Kuntamalla

Vidheesha Kuntamalla is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express, based in New Delhi. She is known for her investigative reporting on higher education policy, international student immigration, and academic freedom on university campuses. Her work consistently connects policy decisions with lived realities, foregrounding how administrative actions, political pressure, and global shifts affect students, faculty, and institutions. Professional Profile Core Beat: Vidheesha covers education in Delhi and nationally, reporting on major public institutions including the University of Delhi (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, the IITs, and the IIMs. She also reports extensively on private and government schools in the National Capital Region. Prior to joining The Indian Express, she worked as a freelance journalist in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for over a year, covering politics, rural issues, women-centric issues, and social justice. Specialisation: She has developed a strong niche in reporting on the Indian student diaspora, particularly the challenges faced by Indian students and H-1B holders in the United States. Her work examines how geopolitical shifts, immigration policy changes, and campus politics impact global education mobility. She has also reported widely on: * Mental health crises and student suicides at IITs * Policy responses to campus mental health * Academic freedom and institutional clampdowns at JNU, South Asian University (SAU), and Delhi University * Curriculum and syllabus changes under the National Education Policy Her recent reporting has included deeply reported human stories on policy changes during the Trump administration and their consequences for Indian students and researchers in the US. Reporting Style Vidheesha is recognised for a human-centric approach to policy reporting, combining investigative depth with intimate storytelling. Her work often highlights the anxieties of students and faculty navigating bureaucratic uncertainty, legal precarity, and institutional pressure. She regularly works with court records, internal documents, official data, and disciplinary frameworks to expose structural challenges to academic freedom. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2024 & 2025) 1. Express Investigation Series JNU’s fault lines move from campus to court: University fights students and faculty (November 2025) An Indian Express investigation found that since 2011, JNU has appeared in over 600 cases before the Delhi High Court, filed by the administration, faculty, staff, students, and contractual workers across the tenures of three Vice-Chancellors. JNU’s legal wars with students and faculty pile up under 3 V-Cs | Rs 30-lakh fines chill campus dissent (November 2025) The report traced how steep monetary penalties — now codified in the Chief Proctor’s Office Manual — are reshaping dissent and disciplinary action on campus. 2. International Education & Immigration ‘Free for a day. Then came ICE’: Acquitted after 43 years, Indian-origin man faces deportation — to a country he has never known (October 2025) H-1B $100,000 entry fee explained: Who pays, who’s exempt, and what’s still unclear? (September 2025) Khammam to Dallas, Jhansi to Seattle — audacious journeys in pursuit of the American dream after H-1B visa fee hike (September 2025) What a proposed 15% cap on foreign admissions in the US could mean for Indian students (October 2025) Anxiety on campus after Trump says visas of pro-Palestinian protesters will be cancelled (January 2025) ‘I couldn’t believe it’: F-1 status of some Indian students restored after US reverses abrupt visa terminations (April 2025) 3. Academic Freedom & Policy Exclusive: South Asian University fires professor for ‘inciting students’ during stipend protests (September 2025) Exclusive: Ministry seeks explanation from JNU V-C for skipping Centre’s meet, views absence ‘seriously’ (July 2025) SAU rows after Noam Chomsky mentions PM Modi, Lankan scholar resigns, PhD student exits SAU A series of five stories examining shrinking academic freedom at South Asian University after global scholar Noam Chomsky referenced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an academic interaction, triggering administrative unease and renewed debate over political speech, surveillance, and institutional autonomy on Indian campuses. 4. Mental Health on Campuses In post-pandemic years, counselling rooms at IITs are busier than ever; IIT-wise data shows why (August 2025) Campus suicides: IIT-Delhi panel flags toxic competition, caste bias, burnout (April 2025) 5. Delhi Schools These Delhi government school grads are now success stories. Here’s what worked — and what didn’t (February 2025) ‘Ma’am… may I share something?’ Growing up online and alone, why Delhi’s teens are reaching out (December 2025) ... Read More

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