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Journalism of Courage
The 105th Foundation Day celebrations of Jamia Millia Islamia have sparked controversy after several students’ organisations issued a joint statement opposing events, which they say “contradict the university’s secular and inclusive values”.
The six-day celebration, which began on October 29 and runs through November 3, features a music and dance performance titled ‘Akhand Bharat’, scheduled for November 1 at the Safdar Hashmi Amphitheatre, along with a singing performance by the Delhi Police on November 2.
In their statement, the student groups, including AISA, AIRSO, AISF, DISSC, CRJD, Fraternity Movement, MSF, SFI and the Common Students of Jamia Millia Islamia, said the programme “foresees a series of events that seem less about celebrating Jamia’s century-long commitment to inclusive nation-building and more about signalling a shift towards a saffronised narrative of nation and campus”.
The statement further said, “A singing performance by the Delhi Police, a music and dance programme on the theme of ‘Akhand Bharat’, and a Kavi Sammelan featuring invited state-sponsored Sangh-Parivar functionaries are centrally featured.”
The student groups also condemned what they called the “silent imposition” of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, saying it “has structurally attacked the higher education access of Muslim and oppressed communities” and accused the university administration of “sacrificing minority rights at the altar of political obedience”.
“Jamia Millia Islamia has the dual task of simultaneously critiquing and serving the nation. Any attempt to convert this university purely into a service-unit or a mouthpiece for Hindutva ideology is a betrayal of its founding mission,” the statement read.
The statement also opposed “the cultural appropriation and distortion of syncretic traditions under the guise of “Sanskrit Qawwali”, adding that “Qawwali is a spiritual art rooted in Urdu-Persian poetic legacy and Sufi devotional practice”. The statement also said: “Its transformation into ‘Sanskrit Qawwali’ is not cultural fusion but a deliberate attempt to dilute, sanitise and Brahminise a Muslim art-form, an erasure masquerading as innovation.”
Responding to the criticism, Jamia’s Chief Public Relations Officer Saima Saeed told The Indian Express: “We have been making an effort to show all cultures together in the foundation day events. Certain words are being nitpicked and taken out of context. There is absolutely no problem as such. When we say ‘Akhand Bharat’, we mean that. Because we are showcasing folk and culture of 8-10 states. We had programmes, including deliberations on the Quran, a ‘Sanskrit Qawwali’ and dances from the Northeast states of India.”
“About 8,000–10,000 students have been gathering to attend these events. This is not against the will of anyone. The students are gathering because they support and like the cultural programmes.” She added
Commenting on the performance by the Delhi Police, Saeed said: “That is one of the many performances and their song is about the nation’s martyrs. It has nothing to do with the Delhi Police in particular, it is not about them.”
