Jamia cancels event, students say told they cannot invite speakers from outside

Jamia Millia Islamia

Students of Jamia Millia Islamia have alleged that the university has once again cancelled permission for an event, “Shrinking Democratic Spaces in Universities”. While Jamia had initially given its assent and asked them to reschedule the event for Thursday, permission was cancelled and students were told they cannot “invite speakers from outside Jamia”. The students, however, went ahead and held the talk on Thursday, with just speakers from Jamia.

Meanwhile, the university said there is no reason for them to not allow students to hold events. “There are protocols which students are aware of and need to follow. They could come to the department head or directly go to the Dean Students Welfare office… Jamia as an institution has never been stringent on these matters,” Saima Syed, Jamia public relations officer, said.

On September 12, two second-year students submitted a letter to the Proctor, Dean Students Welfare, seeking permission to hold a talk at the central canteen. They also included the list of speakers. The letter was accepted and the students were told the event could be held on Thursday, “subject to furnishing details of the speaker and the topic”. The students claimed they had submitted the list with details of speakers from JNU, DU and others.
“Permission was granted by Chief Proctor Haroon Sajjad, and verified by Registrar A P I Siddiqui and Dean Students Welfare Prof. Naved Iqbal. Yesterday, we got an intimation from the Proctor, DSW, and Security Advisor that we aren’t allowed to invite speakers from outside Jamia…,” alleged a student.