After 18 days of hunger strike and sustained protests, students of Jamia Millia Islamia have secured a significant breakthrough in their fight for the restoration of the students’ union on Thursday, forcing the university administration to announce a definite timeline for the process.
In an order dated October 29, 2026, the university’s Office of the Registrar set May 15, 2027, as the deadline for approving and implementing the Jamia Millia Islamia Students’ Union (JMISU) Constitution. The order further states that elections will be conducted within six weeks of the commencement of the next academic session, scheduled to begin on July 16, 2027.
The administration has also agreed to revoke disciplinary action against students involved in the agitation, including show-cause notices, suspensions, rustication orders and campus bans issued in connection with the protest.
The order explicitly states: “All ongoing show-cause notices, disciplinary actions, rustications, suspensions and campus ban orders issued in connection with participation in the protest period shall be revoked.”
Directing students to end their agitation, the university further declared: “The protesting students shall call off their protest/hunger strike with immediate effect.”
The development marks a major breakthrough for a movement demanding the restoration of an elected students’ union, which has remained defunct since 2006.
However, the victory comes with a caveat. Students had demanded approval of the union constitution by December 20, 2026, and an election notification within 15 days. The administration’s new timeline pushes the constitutional deadline to May 2027.
The announcement underscores how sustained student mobilisation has compelled the administration to make concrete commitments. Whether these assurances translate into timely elections will now be the crucial test of the students’ victory.
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