Jamia Milia Islamia Bans Safoora Zargar From Entering Premises

Days after the administration cancelled her MPhil admission, Safoora Zargar, a researcher and activist, has been banned from entering the university's campus by Jamia Millia Islamia.

For humanitarian and medical reasons, Zargar was freed on bail in June 2020, after serving time in prison under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act because of an alleged conspiracy case centred on the Delhi riots.

Safoora Zargar Banned

Following her dismissal from the university on August 19, Zargar and other Jamia students took part in demonstrations calling for her reinstatement and an extension on the due date for her thesis.

The order stated, “It has been observed that Ms Safoora Zargar (ex-student) has been involved in organizing agitations, protests and marches on the campus against the irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment with few students who are mostly outsiders."You can read the full order here.

The university's sociology department denied her admittance due to "unsatisfactory" progress on her thesis. In 2019, in the combined MPhil/PhD programme, Zargar joined the sociology department.

The office of the dean, faculty of social science, stated in a notification dated August 26 that Zargar did not submit her MPhil dissertation within the maximum allowed time of five semesters.

Her dismissal was allegedly based on a recommendation submitted by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5, according to the dean's office. The Board of Studies for the department gave its approval to the matter on August 22.

Zargar has previously claimed that she was being denied extensions for submitting her thesis while others were receiving them. She said that despite the University Grants Commission (UGC) offering five extensions, she only obtained one from Covid.

To provide researchers with a chance to make up time lost owing to the Covid-19 epidemic, the UGC has granted four extensions for the submission of MPhil and PhD theses. The most recent of these extensions was given in May. Beyond June 30, universities were permitted to grant another extension for a maximum of six months.

In June 2020, Safoora Zargar was released on bail for humanitarian and medical reasons after being in jail under the UAPA in connection with an alleged conspiracy case involving the Delhi riots.

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