The protests staged by students of the Applied Arts departments of Jamia Millia Islamia has entered its 11th day as I write this. The protest that started on February 1, was initiated by the Applied Arts students of the second year and alumni members for the removal of their HoD (Head of the Department), Prof. Hafeez Ahmad. The HoD has been alleged to indulge in misconduct, harassment, regional biases and a lack of transparency in evaluation.
The protest turned violent on February 7 when the protesters were allegedly “thrashed by a group of students close to the head of the department.” These goons fed by the HoD came in and started opposing the students who were non violently protesting, as can be seen in this video. They engaged in a fight with the students, misbehaved with women, one of whom has been admitted to the Holy Family Hospital.
After a complaint by three women students, the university has suspended the three male students who are now “debarred from entering the Campus and attending the classes for two weeks,” pending a disciplinary hearing. The university has sent Ahmad on ‘leave’ and made the Dean, Faculty of Fine Arts, Prof. Nuzhat Kazmi as the officiating HoD of the Department of Applied Arts.
Akansha, a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) student told Youth Ki Awaaz how some favourite students of Ahmad, namely Wasif and a few others manhandled her, pulled her hair violently even after she resisted. She also shared that these were the same students who are given attendance and marks without even turning up for classes or turning in their submissions.
But the professor, on the other hand, alleged that he was held captive inside his studio by students who were protesting outside his room for five hours. He claimed that when he stepped out of the studio to take his classes, students tried to thrash him when the university security intervened.
“I have been working in the university for 25 years now but no such complaints were raised against me earlier. If students had an issue, they should have moved the right authorities. They protested outside my studio and held me captive for five hours, this is an attempt to character assassinate me,” Ahmad told The Indian Express.
But, Ahmed has been known for passing misogynistic remarks on the likes of “Tum jaisi ladkiyon ko bas hungama hi karna aata hai, ” translating to “Girls like you only know how to create a ruckus out of nothing.”
Allegations Of Favouritism And Harassment
As reported by The Hindustan Times, students began protesting after alleging that their assignments from the previous semester, which were submitted in an enclosed envelope, had not been opened before being returned and seemingly evaluated. This has been the case every year.
Even earlier, the students sent a letter addressed to the Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Students’ Welfare alleging that Ahmad marked them without checking assignments and threatened them. Protests were initiated, but they failed as the HoD tried to shut them down with the help of hooligans.
Ahmad is known to practise favouritism; a group of students shared how he has had favourite students and how he would only dish out marks to people who appeased him and fed him biryani.
“The HoD made such an environment in the campus that whoever spoke against him would either be kicked out (if it’s a faculty member) or would be threatened (if it’s a student),” a second year student told Youth Ki Awaaz.
A third-year student who wanted to remain anonymous alleged that the HoD sent her unsolicited text messages and made her feel uncomfortable. “Some time back, I wasn’t coming to college because I had fallen ill. Sir used to text me addressing me as ‘dear’, ‘appi’ and ‘queen’ to ask me how I was. He would often send me irrelevant text messages and all I did was save screenshots of those messages, thinking that I will someday confront him. Since he was in charge of the entire department, I could neither block him nor could I confront him.” she said.
Farah, one of the protesters among the Applied Arts students said, “The female students were also subjected to ill- treatment by a few faculty members, and when they tried to report it, the HoD took no action against it.”
She also mentioned how Ahmad openly said that a woman’s success is judged by the number of relationships she has been in.
This is only one of the many issues that the Applied Arts Department students have been facing. There have been so many incidents when guest lecturers have been invited but their lectures would lack the reflection of expertise and skill to be in their position. Incidents of students raising doubts and asking questions only to be responded to with “Search the answer on Google,” are a commonality.
Demanding Ahmad’s Permanent Termination
Students are currently protesting outside the VC’s office demanding the resignation of the HoD Hafeez Ahmad along with an FIR to be lodged by the administration against him, as reported by Pinjra Tod.
The students have also initiated a petition online to terminate Ahmad. The students have resolved to go on a hunger strike and would not get up until their demands are fulfilled.
But, some students siding with the HoD have been roaming around, shouting at the freshers who took the initiative of sharing the petition and are strongly involved with the protest. They also tore a few posters hanging around in the campus.
“I spent four years in Jamia studying Applied Arts. At that time, Ahmad was a real mental torture. He exploited a lot of students with his own whims and fancies. He was a very rude, insensitive, biased, and a directionless professor. I really support the students.” Jaishree Kuldeep shared on the petition page.
Administration’s Call For Halt Of Protests
In an official statement released by the university, Ahmad Azeem, the PRO-Media Coordinator of the university, has appealed “to all the bona fide students of the Faculty of Fine Arts to join classes and not to be enticed.”
He added, “the protesting students are being misled by other factions who are not stakeholders and backed by certain vested elements who want to destabilise the peaceful academic environment of the university.”
He also said that “the protesting students are making the environment of the varsity negative.”
The administration has given assurance that the demands of the students will be looked into and the selection committee of guest teachers will be held to meet the shortage of teachers in the Department of Applied Arts. The students are demanding that this be given in a written form, and only then will they back down.
They have decided to continue the protest through art with the exhibition of photographs, posters, nukkad nataks among other things. Fingertip Feminism has published a statement in solidarity with the students; Umar Khalid, a student activist, has extended support too.
This is not the first time students have dissented against the unwarranted authoritarian attitude of the administration. Oddballs have been thrown at campuses for a long time now. But, protests like the one at Jamia help restore belief that administrative oppression will no longer subjugate students in campuses.
As of February 11, the PRO-Media Coordinator in a press release has stated the establishing of a fact finding committee comprising of six Deans to look into ongoing issues in the department of Applied Arts.