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Hunger Strike at Jamia Millia Islamia: What Unfolded at the Campus?

By DU Beat October 19, 2026

At Jamia Millia Islamia, what began as a hunger strike demanding the restoration of student union elections has escalated into a confrontation between students and the administration, with disciplinary action and campus restrictions intensifying the unrest.

The hunger strike to restore student union elections at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), which began on 12 October, took a contentious turn on Saturday, 17 October, when university security personnel forcibly removed protesting students from the campus. The incident sparked further demonstrations, with students alleging that they were assaulted during the eviction and subsequently detained by the Delhi Police.

According to The Times of India, the incident occurred at around 5.30 am, when three protesting students were removed from Ghalib Lawn, where the hunger strike was held. Around 60 security personnel, accompanied by the chief proctor and security adviser, allegedly dismantled the temporary structures erected at the site and removed the protesters.

Kamil, a Jamia student, alleged that 20–25 security personnel arrived at around 4 am and began pushing and dragging students away from the protest site. He added that the administration subsequently announced a complete campus closure, citing mosquito control as the reason. Another student, Akhil, alleged that security personnel intervened in the hunger strike even before the protest site was dismantled. He accused them of kicking students and pulling protesters by their hair, adding that while some managed to escape, others were arrested.

Disciplinary action against protesters

The eviction was followed by disciplinary action against students participating in the hunger strike. According to The Times of India, Ebin Basil was rusticated for one year, while postgraduate student Jasim Khan received a six-month rustication order. A third student, Rehaan Haider, was also rusticated. The students were barred from entering the campus. In its disciplinary notices, the university accused the protesters of holding an unauthorised demonstration and obstructing university personnel. The administration also alleged that the protesters had tampered with the wiring of a CCTV camera.

The students and their supporters have challenged the disciplinary measures, demanding their withdrawal alongside an inquiry into the alleged assault.

Sana, a Jamia student, said the confrontation reflected a broader breakdown in communication between students and the administration. She pointed to unresolved concerns over hostel food, the admission process and other campus-related issues, alleging that assurances given by the authorities had not been fulfilled.

“Students are not a threat to the university; they are part of it,” she said, arguing that the situation could be resolved only if the administration addressed students’ grievances through due process and meaningful engagement, rather than force or the formation of another committee.

The university, meanwhile, maintained that its security personnel had acted in self-defence, according to The Times of India. On 18 October, the Vice-Chancellor announced the formation of a high-powered committee to address students’ grievances. The committee comprises five deans, with the Dean of Students’ Welfare serving as its convener.

Protests continue beyond the campus

The confrontation triggered further demonstrations on Saturday, with students gathering outside the university to protest the alleged assault and the disciplinary action against their peers. According to a PTI report published by ThePrint, several students were detained after a demonstration entered the campus through Gate No. 7. They were released after approximately an hour.

Student organisations, including the All India Students’ Association (AISA), the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), extended their support to the protesters. AISA demanded the chief proctor’s resignation, an independent inquiry into the alleged assault and the withdrawal of all disciplinary action against the students.

The demand for an elected student union

At the heart of the unrest is a long-standing demand: the restoration of an elected student union at Jamia Millia Islamia, where university-wide union elections have not been held since 2006.

The hunger strike began on 12 October, with students arguing that the absence of an elected representative body has left them without a formal platform to raise academic and administrative grievances. For the protesters, the demand extends beyond the restoration of elections to the question of student representation in university decision-making.

The union was dissolved in 2006, during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan. According to the university administration, concerns about alleged incidents of violence and clashes between students and teachers have informed its decision to restore a university-wide student union.

An official also referred to proceedings before the Delhi High Court in 2022, stating that they had not resulted in a direction requiring the university to restore the union.

Aeera Aroush Khan

[email protected]

Image Credits: jmi.ac.in

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Arts & Culture

On Record with Shreya V. Basu

By DU Beat October 18, 2026

DU Beat sits in conversation with Ms. Shreya Basu, Head of Partnerships and Growth at Safetipin, to discuss how the narrative around women’s safety has changed and the gaps that we are yet to overcome.

Rishika: When we talk about making spaces safer for women, there’s often a move towards more CCTVs and more police. How do we make sure that women’s safety doesn’t become synonymous with surveillance and restricting women’s behaviour?

Shreya: I think the first thing to understand is that safety and security are not the same thing. Safety is about feeling free from fear. Surveillance is a part of safety, so it doesn’t need to be completely taken away, but it has to be backed by trust and accountability. If you’re going to put up CCTV cameras, I have to feel safe, and I have to feel confident that there is someone who will help me out. The same goes for police personnel. It’s not just about putting up the infrastructure, but it also has to do with how you maintain it. It is crucial to ask who’s managing the space and how it impacts your day-to-day activity and movement in that space. It’s really important to find that balance. So, security is not bad, but security is not everything, and security without trust and accountability is only a curative measure if they care about it. We should look at safety as prevention because it’s a feeling of fear that we’re trying to eliminate.

Rishika: You spoke about the need to strike a balance between security and trust. In an ideal world, how do you think this balance should be achieved? While safety requires structural changes in how spaces are designed and managed, it also involves addressing societal attitudes and the patriarchal mindsets that shape how we perceive and approach women’s safety. What are your thoughts on this?

Shreya: First, there are two kinds of surveillance: actual surveillance and natural surveillance. In actual surveillance, in theory and in an ideal world, all the systems and institutions in a government work for the citizen. They’re supposed to be working for our welfare, but who is the citizen they’re realistically working for is the question. Because men are able to walk around. Women are not. So it’s also: who are you designing the system for? Who are you including at the table? Who are you actually asking these questions to? Because if a bunch of men sit around and discuss and design a public space, they’ll design it in a way that they understand. And that’s not their fault; that’s their reality. So, for it to be inclusive and responsive to the needs of other genders and other ages, you have to include those people in the conversation when designing. And I think the point of maintenance is very important. You can’t just do one thing and say, now it will be done. You have to continue it. It has to keep building.

Then there’s the concept of natural surveillance—activity on the streets, eyes on the streets—which changes the game. If you have space with vendors that women are actively using, as well as female vendors, you will feel more comfortable being out there. If you see more of you outside, you will feel comfortable being outside. I looked at the Safetipin data from 2023 to 2025, and what we found was that when there are no people around, both men and women feel unsafe. But as the number of people increases, the feeling of safety for men and women both increases. However, for men, the gender composition doesn’t matter. For women, the gender composition does matter. That’s why we have a gender parameter in our audit. And the feeling of safety differs for men and women when those are different, and that’s what matters.

So, activity on the street first: if you have a vendor, if you have shopkeepers, they add life to the street, and they take ownership of the street. Then you don’t feel alone. But what it also does is invite more women to use it.

What type of vendors do you have? What type of things are you selling? What type of seating is around it? Are you creating a public space where women feel comfortable to actually be? Because there’s very little room for women to be in public spaces just for leisure, for pleasure, for loitering. And it’s very important that we question why that is for all women, so that’s the conversation we need to change. Something like when Safetipin puts up their tea stall, wherein we tell women to come sit and have chai. You don’t need to be on the move all the time. Social norms won’t change quickly. They will not change in our lifetime, 100%. But infrastructure informs social change. So we can start there.

If you look at just the difference between what happened in the Nirbhaya case and the Aastha Kunj case, at the time of Nirbhaya, the instant reaction was, “Let’s install panic buttons, let’s put out a Nirbhaya fund, and let’s kill the people who did this.” In the Aastha Kunj case, it’s “Let’s do audits of public parks. Let’s look at public infrastructure. Let’s look at street lighting.” So in the last 15 years, the conversation has changed. Safety in public spaces has become mainstream, largely due to the work of feminist organisations in Delhi and in India. We have to acknowledge that it is changing very slowly, but it is. So we have to keep pushing that forward. We can’t just say it’s okay that this happened. No. But at least we’re addressing the real problem. I don’t know if they’re doing it fully correctly, but at least the wording is right. It’s not just “Kill the rapists”. I think they should be convicted, and a lot more should happen. But we’re also looking at the streets and the parks, and public toilets. If you don’t put public toilets in places, there is no reason women can come and hang out.

Rishika: Safetipin measures gender diversity in a space. But women may not be present because a space feels unsafe, and then their absence can itself become part of what makes the space feel unsafe. How can we break this vicious loop?

Shreya: That’s true. I think we also don’t feel comfortable going out alone, and I understand that. Because even if the street is completely safe, you may still not use it, because other streets are not safe. We’ve accustomed ourselves to change internally before we even question what’s happening outside.

I think that community-mobilisation activities like Jagori’s ‘Sleep in the Park’, Why Loiter’s walks around places, and Safetipin’s night safety walks are very important. Going around with a group of women, including men, also, that’s not a problem; it builds your confidence. Of course, your security and safety are very important. The reason you’re not moving around the city is that you don’t feel safe, because you’ve never done it.

It’s also okay if you don’t want to; I think that’s also fair. Maybe somebody doesn’t want to go out in the evening; sometimes they’re just lazy. We can’t say that every woman has to be an activist in everything she does. I think it’s fair to say we need a break also. But when you want to go out, you should. You want to reclaim a park, go reclaim a park; go hang out there.

How you use a space is shaped by social norms, and social norms do get created based on how you also act in those social public spaces. So I would say that’s a very community-driven feeling. It’ll increase the gender diversity; of course, don’t get me wrong, infrastructure does have to change, and other people also have to change. But this part we can do.

I don’t think the onus of my safety should be on me. Never. If something happens to me ever, it won’t be my fault. I can wear what I want, I can do what I want, say what I want, be whoever. But the onus of my enjoyment can be on me. If I try to figure out how I can look for my joy, if my joy is about being out, I should be able to access that. The negative cannot be on me; that’s on the perpetrator. But my happiness and what I can enjoy, I can do with my friends, my community, and I can choose to do that.

Rishika: Back in March of 2015, LSR and Jagori conducted a Safetipin audit of the areas around LSR, and 11 years later, Safetipin and Jagori have returned to almost the same stretch and found many of the same concerns. Students reported feeling uncomfortable in the space in 2015, and students still feel uncomfortable there in 2026. What does that tell us about the limits of producing evidence?

Shreya: I think the gap is what you do with that data, and how you make it actionable. Getting a woman’s feelings about a space is not enough, so the 8 other parameters I’m collecting—that’s what the action items are. Let’s say Safetipin does the audit with a bunch of students; we have found that you feel uncomfortable here; we have figured out what the reasons are for the parameters; we can give actionable recommendations on what needs to be done. Who will do it now is a little bit of an issue. And I’m not saying that’s an excuse. I’m saying it’s a very, very poor reality of the world we live in that we can’t get that done. But if you fight enough, if you push enough, you may even get the streetlights installed, but will they work? You may get a vendor for one day, but will they stay? So, what is the longer-term vision? And I think that’s why some of these things are slower, because the point is, it shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Implementation is not just doing it once. And I think that’s also what we have to understand: implementation is a longer process. Projects can’t just end.

Shreya V. Basu, Head of Partnerships and Growth at Safetipin

Interview Conducted by

Rishika Jain

[email protected]

Image Credit: Shreya V. Basu

Read Also: Dilli-Dallying After Dark

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Campus Central

Dilli-Dallying After Dark

By DU Beat October 18, 2026

Students of colleges across Delhi University assess safety outside their colleges across nine parameters using the My Safetipin app, revealing the terms and conditions of mobility around campus.

11 years of safety around LSR

In March 2015, Lady Shri Ram College’s Committee Against Sexual Harassment, the Aung San Suu Kyi Centre for Peace and the Department of Political Science conducted a safety audit from LSR to Moolchand. It rated the space as ‘uncomfortable’. The audit was meant to give students agency and local ownership: a safety map based on factors such as lighting, openness and visibility, to help outstation students choose PG accommodation. According to professors back then, the initiative focused on taking immediate action rather than waiting on institutional intervention. The extent of subsequent progress remains uncertain.

Eleven years later, on 24 September 2026, another audit was conducted in the lane adjacent to the college’s back gate, following the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl nearby. Hosted by Safetipin and Jagori, the audit saw 8–10 LSR students use the My Safetipin app to rate the lane across nine parameters: lighting, openness, visibility, people, security, walking path, public transport, gender diversity, and feeling.

The lane scored low across all nine parameters, with the average rating for feeling indicating that the space was frightening and uncomfortable. It is only in a group that one would feel safe travelling here.

When night falls in North Campus

The five audits conducted around North Campus colleges: Hindu College, Hansraj College, Miranda House, Shri Ram College of Commerce and Kirori Mal College, reveal a mixed picture of safety around campuses. While several locations scored relatively well on openness, concerns surrounding lighting, security, and gender usage raise questions about safety in these areas.

An audit outside Hindu College, conducted at 4:08 pm, recorded no street lighting. As the auditor noted, ‘From 6 pm, there will be no light as there is no street lamp,’ warning that the area becomes ‘highly unsafe for women unless they are travelling in groups’. Similarly, Hansraj College recorded low scores for lighting and security, alongside moderate ratings for openness, visibility and gender usage.

At Miranda House, the audit recorded moderate lighting and visibility but low security and gender usage. Although public transport accessibility received a high score, the limited presence of women raises questions about whether connectivity alone ensures safety. SRCC presented a comparatively ‘safer’ picture, scoring highly on security and walk paths, with the auditor reporting feeling ‘comfortable’ in the space. The audit conducted near Kirori Mal College at 8:22 pm offers the most relevant evidence for examining safety after dark. Despite high scores for openness, visibility, the presence of people, and public transport, the location received low ratings for lighting, security, walking paths, and gender usage.

These findings suggest that favourable physical infrastructure does not automatically ensure women’s safety in public spaces, although it may contribute to a sense of security. However, only one of the five audits was conducted after 8 pm, and gender diversity was rated low rather than absent. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether the presence of women in North Campus declines significantly after dark.

Safety and sundown in South and Off Campus

Students from seven colleges across South Campus and off-campus areas identified gaps in mobility outside their campuses. While these spaces scored highly on openness and walkability, perceptions of safety were shaped by gendered usage and temporal conditions.

Audits around Gargi College and Kamala Nehru College, conducted near the gates between 5:32 pm and 6:46 pm, revealed a stark decline in women’s presence after sunset. While the streets consistently scored highly on openness and walkability, students reported poor lighting, with illumination coming primarily from secondary sources, such as the colleges themselves. The audits also revealed limited public transport accessibility and a sharp decline in gender diversity as evening fell.

In an audit conducted outside Gate 2 of Gargi College, the user, a second-year student who uses the space daily, wrote, ‘Streetlights are not functional’. Locals commented that the police leave after sunset. All women PCR vans are nowhere near. The area is fairly deserted except for the traffic. A similar picture emerged outside Gate 2 of Gargi College, where the auditor reported ‘natural light blocked by trees’ and described the stretch as deserted. These factors, compounded by relatively few or no eyes on the street, the absence of security personnel, and extremely low gender diversity, contributed to students reporting a feeling of being ‘alarmed’. They said they would avoid the space if they could.

Comparatively, Gate 1 of Gargi College was reported to have better lighting and a larger crowd in the surrounding area, contributing to a feeling of being ‘secure’, although the location still scored low on security and gender diversity.

Outside Gates 1 and 2 of Kamala Nehru College, situated close to Gargi College, the reported feeling returned to ‘frightening’ and ‘uncomfortable’, with scarce lighting around 6:30 pm, distant public transport, and gender diversity reported as ‘no one in sight’. In contrast, the area scored highly on openness, and the walking paths were good enough to run on. The auditor also added, ‘There are no working street lamps on the entire Siri Fort road.’ An audit conducted at 5:32 pm, before sunset, recorded adequately lit surroundings and a higher, though still low, female presence. By 6:39 pm, gender usage had dropped to zero.

The perception of low safety persists even in broad daylight. Outside Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, an audit was conducted at 1:11 pm, and almost every parameter was rated poorly. With virtually no street lighting, no eyes on the street, undiversified gender usage, unavailable public transport, and no security, the student reported feeling ‘frightened’ in the space surrounding the college. ‘It is a construction site, and everywhere there are construction workers even during the daytime. The way to the nearest residential area is all but worse,’ the auditor wrote.

Outside Jesus and Mary College, audits were conducted at 10:03 am and 5:17 pm. While the ratings for the different parameters fluctuated between the two times, students reported the feeling in the space as ‘acceptable’. Outside Venkateswara College, an audit conducted at 12:41 pm reported fairly diverse gender usage and an overall feeling of ‘acceptable’.

Outside Deshbandhu College, an audit conducted at 6:47 pm recorded adequate performance across all parameters except security. ‘Even though there are lights, they are not enough, as there are a few blind spots. There are no security guards over here,’ the auditor wrote. An audit conducted outside Shivaji College at 4:35 pm recorded decent scores across all parameters. The auditor, however, wrote, ‘Though it’s good in daytime, at night it’s extremely unsafe’.

For many students, the college campus functions as a safe island. But what happens when we step outside? What remains is a stretch of road that the data rates as frightening, and a city that, after dark, is simply smaller for women.

Rishika Jain and Sheetal Mishra

[email protected]

Image Credit: Rishika for DU Beat

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Campus Central

Updates on the Ongoing Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ) Protest:

By DU Beat October 15, 2026

Prof. Rama Sharma takes charge as DSJ Director as students continue their indefinite protest demanding transparency and accountability

On 15 October, the University of Delhi appointed Professor Rama Sharma, Principal of Hansraj College, as the Director of the Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ) with immediate effect until further orders, in addition to her existing duties. The appointment comes amid an indefinite protest by DSJ students demanding the resignation of the now-former director of DSJ, OSD Sanjay Verma, and greater transparency in the enquiry process initiated by the DU administration.

Following the protest held at the Delhi School of Journalism (DSJ) on 8 October, students claim that they had been assured of a concrete decision and corrective intervention by 12 October. However, amid the administration’s failure to deliver on this assurance by the stipulated date, students began an indefinite protest outside Gate No. 4 of the Arts Faculty at Delhi University’s North Campus.

The protest began with spirited echoes of songs and slogans, and culminated in a peaceful demonstration outside the Arts Faculty by the end of the day. Students set up mattresses and other essentials at the site.

Twenty-four hours into the protest, police barricaded the area as students continued to express dissent.

When asked about their plan of action beyond the ongoing protest, a student representative said that they remained resolute in their demands and would continue to dissent until their concerns were heard and discussions initiated with the administration. While expressing disappointment with the DU administration, the representative maintained that the students would continue to place their faith in the institution, while expecting greater transparency and accountability in the process.

Image credit: DuBeat

Ananya Chaturvedi

[email protected]

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Features

The Perfect Protests Don’t Exist

By DU Beat October 13, 2026

Delhi’s autumn protests, from DU women’s safety marches to the ‘Cockroach’ movement, were called scattered, unserious and futile. But the actual question is whether an ‘ideal protest’ really exists, or if the question itself is flawed.

Protest is one of the biggest elements of the Spirit of Democracy, and this concept is not alien to our land, be it the British era or the Indira era. And naturally, protests follow every government. But in the end, every protest in India eventually meets the same three questions. Why was it so scattered? What did it actually stand for? And what exactly has changed?

In September and then early October this year, protests in Delhi got all three: They were called unserious, disjointed, ideologically vague and, because no minister resigned the next morning, pointless. It is a tidy verdict.

But at the same time, it is also built on quite an assumption: there is an “Ideal Protest” somewhere out there, organised, focused and victorious, against which the real ones fall short. Almost utopian. But before looking at what happened, it is worth asking whether that benchmark exists at all.

Case 1: The Marches

On 21st September, A 17-year-old girl was gang-raped by three men who posed as police personnel at Astha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir. Women students from several Delhi University colleges held a march in solidarity with the victim. The march began at the gate of Kamala Nehru College and was open to all women and gender minorities. Students from Lady Shri Ram, Gargi, Miranda House and Kamala Nehru took part.

The charge of “no coherent ideology” is hard to sustain here. The slogan was Hum Auratein Azaad Hain, and the argument was specific: measures that restrict women’s mobility in the name of safety “cage” them rather than make public spaces safer. That is a position, and an old one in the Indian context of feminism. The collective Pinjra Tod, for example, has fought hostel curfews with written charters of demands and all-night sit-ins.

Female students and faculty members from across DU Colleges join the solidarity march (Credits: Nibedita for DU Beat)

The march also did something unglamorous that is easy to miss. Afterwards, students held open consultations on Siri Fort Road to draft a “Charter of Demands for Delhi Citizens”. A protest that builds a drafting process into its own aftermath is not improvising. Five days later, National Law University Delhi students and faculty held their own march, asking for better street lighting, police patrolling and accessibility around campus. Those are the most concrete, most winnable demands of the whole season.

Outcomes are harder to pin down. Three days after the march, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of a series of rape and sexual assault cases across Delhi-NCR, saying they underlined a systematic failure by authorities. Nothing in the coverage links the two events, and it would be dishonest to claim one caused the other. But the timing shows the issue had reached the highest court within a week. The charter’s final text and any official response were not reported in the coverage I reviewed, so that part of the story is still open.

Case 2: The Anti-CEC protests

The protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation look different. They are led by opposition parties alongside student groups tied to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement, over a revision of electoral rolls that has removed more than 130 million names, with millions appealing. The Election Commission and the government deny any political motive.

Here the “disjointed” charge has more bite, because the coalition is wide. Starting October 2, AISA led protests on the streets of Delhi. On 4 October, AISA’s national president Neha Bora was detained near Ashoka Road as marchers tried to reach Jantar Mantar without police permission. Days later, the INDIA bloc held its own protest at Rajghat. Student groups, party workers and a national opposition do not share a single script. Whether that is incoherence or simply what a coalition looks like is the question.

Scenes from the 4th October Protest (Credits: Mananya for DU Beat)

The state’s response is itself evidence. Ahead of the 10 October protests, Amnesty International India criticised the “lockdown-like” restrictions, including planned Metro closures, sealed borders, and thousands of additional armed personnel. Nobody deploys that much machinery against a protest they consider irrelevant.

And judging these protests by outcome so soon is premature. The same movement spent roughly two months and several rounds of tear gas and baton charges before Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on 25 July, which AP called the government’s first major concession to it. Delhi’s own history agrees. The 2012 protests produced a 71-point charter of demands from a DU-linked forum within days, and are now remembered as having led to several criminal law reforms. Reform arrived long after the crowds went home.

The Gen Z register

Part of the “unserious” charge is about form. These protests don’t look like the marches older critics remember, and they were not built to.

The clearest case is the Cockroach Janta Party. After a remark by Chief Justice Surya Kant that Newslaundry reports as likening unemployed youth to “parasites” and “cockroaches”, Abhijeet Dipke launched a satirical party on 16 May, its name a pun on the BJP. The movement then adopted the insult. Protesters carried “Main Bhi Cockroach” signs and wore cockroach masks, and Newslaundry described posters that were memes lifted off the screen and set on paper. When the party’s X account was withheld in India, a new one appeared within minutes, announced with a poster reading “Cockroach is back”.

Critics were quick. Newslaundry notes the old stereotype of this generation as apolitical, lazy and unserious, and opponents, many of them Modi supporters, dismissed the party as an online gimmick aligned with the opposition, citing Dipke’s past association with the Aam Aadmi Party. The scepticism was not only partisan: Newslaundry’s account of the movement’s debut sets older liberal cynics beside the hopeful.

But the jokes were a delivery system, not the demand. Foreign Policy reports that the movement mobilised through memes, Reels and humour, and one Delhi participant said social media made the protest feel like a conversation, not a lecture. The test of seriousness is the result, and reports that a movement that began as a call for education reform and grew into a broader protest over unemployment and accountability won its first major concession in July.

“Gen Z” is not one register, either. The DU marches ran on a different grammar: the Hum Auratein Azaad Hain banner, a rhyming chant about breaking apart the society that keeps women bound, open consultations and a charter. Students of the same age used satire in one protest and earnest verse in another, so tarring both as “unserious” lumps together two different strategies.

The trade-off is real. Humour spreads fast and is the easiest form to wave away, yet police evidently did not treat it as a joke: Al Jazeera reported that CJP members said they were detained as protests continued.

The slogans did the same work as the jokes. At the movement’s first Delhi protest on 6 June, supporters chanted “Cockroaches are coming, Dharmendra Pradhan is going!”, a rhyme, a name and a demand in one line, while another placard joked about waiting for an exam that doesn’t leak. Yet the offline playbook was conventional: AP described weeks of demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes before the July resignation. The memes were the recruiting poster; the hunger strike was the protest.

“Season 2” and a sealed city

The 10 October protest at Jantar Mantar was blunted before it began, and the way it was blunted is the story. The CJP’s founder had called it “Season 2”. Delhi Police refused permission, saying the application arrived on 7 October against a 10-day notice requirement and pointing to alleged violations at an earlier protest. The city was then locked down with about 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel, a notice of closure of 57 metro stations, which, after the Apex Court’s intervention, was later reduced to 45 Metro stations, and several trains were cancelled.

On the day, Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Sourav Das were detained as their plane landed. Former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar were also detained as they tried to join, and AISA president Neha Bora was picked up while leading a march from INA. Detention figures climbed through the day and conflict: about 1,500 by mid-morning, then a Tribune live-blog headline of 7,000 over a body text saying 3,000. Treat all of them as unconfirmed. The BJP called the protest a flop.

Protests and crowd at Jantar Mantar on 4th October — Protesting crowd at Jantar Mantar on 4th October (Credits: Aaratrika for DU Beat)

On Sunday, a court released Dipke and the two others on condition of no breach of peace for a year, and with central Delhi sealed, turnout stayed small and people who started slogans were detained. By crowd size, the BJP has a point. By every other measure it doesn’t: a party that began as a joke took a 25,000-strong deployment to contain and put four former chief ministers behind the same barricades. It also exposed the weak point of an online-first, leader-centred movement. Detain the leaders, seal the venue, and the street goes quiet. The CJP itself called the arrests an attempt to cripple its leadership.

A Domino Reaction

Read as separate events, these protests might look scattered. Read in order, they look like a chain reaction. An important point to note is that after the first CJP protests, multiple small protests also took place at the Jantar Mantar, with each one lowering the cost of the next. That is an interpretation, not a documented fact, and the sequence below is where it has to hold up.

Date (2026)	Protest
16 May	Dipke launches the Cockroach Janta Party online after the Chief Justice’s remark
25 July	Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns, the first major concession to the movement
25 Sept	DU women’s colleges march after the Aastha Kunj park case
28 Sept	The Supreme Court takes suo motu cognisance of Delhi-NCR sexual assault cases
30 Sept	NLU Delhi students and faculty march for safer public spaces
4 Oct	AISA and other groups march towards Ashoka Road; leaders detained
7–8 Oct	Rahul Gandhi is detained repeatedly and the INDIA bloc protests, as CJP members report detentions
10 Oct	Jantar Mantar is sealed; opposition and CJP leaders are detained

Now, an important question—What links?

First, precedent. Noted that the government has rarely yielded to sustained public pressure, with the 2021 farm-law withdrawal the notable exception. The July resignation showed young protesters that a street campaign can extract a concession, and every later protest inherits that proof.

Second, the shared grievance: exam leaks, public space, and the electoral rolls are different issues carrying the same message: that institutions are not answering this generation.

Third, the state’s response. Heavy-handed policing, which Amnesty called lockdown-like, turns each crackdown into a reason for the next protest, and it draws in the opposition parties that now stand beside the students.

The limits matter. Nothing in the coverage reviewed for this piece shows the women’s-safety marches feeding into the CEC protests, and the Supreme Court’s notice doesn’t appear to respond to the marchers. The honest picture is closer to neighbouring fires fed by the same dry grass than to one line of dominoes. That still makes spillover a useful way to measure a protest, as the next section argues.

Ways to count scores of Protests

If “did it win?” is the only question, nearly every protest fails on the day. A fairer scorecard has more columns:

Concrete outcomes: were demands met, whether a policy change or a resignation?
Agenda-setting: did the issue enter public debate and the courts, and stay there?
Infrastructure: did it leave behind charters, coalitions or networks that can act again?
Participant formation: did it politicise the people who showed up? A first-year at her first march is an outcome too.
State response: what do bans, barricades and detentions reveal about how the protest was perceived?
Time horizon: judged after a week, a year, or a decade?
Spillover: did it make the next protest easier to start, for the same people or for others?

By these measures, the DU marches score well on agenda-setting, infrastructure, and formation, and are unproven on outcomes. The CJP protests score high on state response and agenda-setting, and it is too early to say on the rest. Neither is a failure. Both are mid-sentence.

Can there be ideal protests?

Short answer: NO! Because the virtues contradict each other. A tightly led protest is easy to message but at the same time easy to decapitate. A leaderless one is resilient enough but might be hard to negotiate with. A narrow demand might be achieved or fulfilled with easier efforts, while a broad one has the potential to change a country. Disruption gets attention but can lose public sympathy, and politeness does the reverse. Humour travels furthest and is the easiest to dismiss, while solemnity is taken seriously and reaches fewer people. In order for a protest to maximize one of these, the only way is by sacrificing another.

That is why “ideal” is the wrong word. A better question is whether a protest fits its purpose. A march meant to put an issue on the agenda and start a charter did its job if the issue got on the agenda and the charter got started. A campaign meant to force a resignation has to be judged on whether the resignation happens, and sometimes it does, after two long months.

The perfect protest is a retrospective fiction, tidied up by history in writing once the mess has been long gone to be witnessed by the readers. The real ones are loud, plural and unfinished. The honest critique is not that they failed to be perfect, but a more specific question: what were they trying to do, and can we see it working?

Image Credits: Aaratrika for DU Beat

Aridaman Singh
[email protected]

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Delhi University Introduces Certificate Course in AI Film Making

By DU Beat October 8, 2026

Delhi University has introduced a new AI Film Making course, teaching learners storytelling, visual creation, editing and sound production while preparing them for emerging opportunities in digital media and filmmaking.

The University of Delhi has introduced a Certificate Course in AI Film Making through its Campus of Open Learning (COL), offering learners structured training in the use of artificial intelligence across different stages of film production.

The three-month offline course has 30 seats and costs ₹15,000. Registration opened on October 5, 2026, and will remain open until October 31. The university has not yet announced the date on which classes will begin. Admission will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to seat availability.

According to NDTV Education, the course will cover ideation, brainstorming, storyboarding, prompt writing, AI-generated images, visual asset creation, video editing, audio and background music production. Students will also undertake activities and projects to apply these skills in AI-assisted film production.

The skills learnt through this course can support entry-level roles such as AI Film Making Assistant, AI-Assisted Content Creator, Junior Video Editor, Visual Content Assistant, Digital Media Content Executive, and Social Media Video Content Creator across film, advertising, digital media, marketing, entertainment and education.

Eligibility extends to anyone who has passed Class 10 from a recognised board and has basic computer literacy can apply, including DU students. Experience with social media content, basic photo or video editing and creating videos using a phone or computer is considered an added advantage, but is not mandatory.

As AI becomes easier to use, an increasing number of creators are experimenting with it to make content. DU’s new course aims to take that experimentation a step further by teaching students how these tools can be used across the film making process. From developing an idea to putting together the final cut, students will get an opportunity to see where AI can fit into different parts of production.

The course provides foundational practical skills and does not guarantee employment; opportunities will depend on the learner’s portfolio, experience, additional skills and other requirements. The programme adds to DU’s growing portfolio of skill-oriented courses as the university expands its offerings in artificial intelligence, digital media and creative technology.

Image Source: University of Delhi, Campus of Open Learning

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World Teachers’ Day 2026: Dr Neha Jingala

By DU Beat October 3, 2026

On this World Teachers’ Day, DU Beat sits down with Dr Neha Jingala, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism at the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi. From navigating the corridors of DU as a student to returning to them as a teacher, she reflects on the classrooms that shaped her, the lessons she carried forward, and what it means to watch a new generation of students find their own place in the university she once called her own.

Rahul: Just to start us off here, could you take us back to the day you first walked through the gates of your college as a student? What were you feeling, and what were you hoping for?

Dr Neha: I can still recall the very first day I walked through the gates of DCAC, completely fresh out of school. I remember feeling as though my heart would fall out of my chest, while also being excited about the possibility of a new beginning. There was a sense of apprehension because everything was unfamiliar, but at the same time, there were aspirations in my eyes and a great deal of curiosity about what lay ahead.

As a journalism student, I was keen to understand everything around me. The city, the world, people, and, most importantly, how stories are found and told. I hoped college would give me the confidence, knowledge, and exposure to turn that curiosity into something meaningful and substantial.

Rahul: Do you remember the first person you met in college? And was there a person, a teacher, a friend, or even a moment that made you feel that you belonged there?

Dr Neha: I distinctly remember attending my first class at 8:30 am with Mr Sunny Thomas, a seasoned journalist who taught us Writing for the Media. His lectures went beyond the basic principles of writing. He spoke about what made a successful journalist. The curiosity, discipline, observation, sensitivity, and, above all, a sense of responsibility towards the profession and the people we report on.

Those early classes made journalism feel real to me. They helped me understand that journalism was not simply about writing well, but about being curious, asking the right questions, and understanding the world around you. In many ways, those classes gave me an early sense that I had chosen the right path.

Rahul: How was teaching on your first day?

Dr Neha: My first day of teaching felt surprisingly similar to my first day as a student. I was both apprehensive and excited. There was the natural nervousness that comes with entering a classroom from the other side for the first time.

However, as soon as I began interacting with the students, those worries gradually faded. Their curiosity, energy, and willingness to participate made me feel comfortable. Very soon, the nervousness gave way to a sense of connection and confidence. It also made me realise that, although the role had changed, the classroom could still be a space where I was learning and discovering things with my students.

Rahul: What part of DU feels the same as when you were here, even after all these years?

Dr Neha: The students are still just as wonderful. They are enthusiastic, ambitious, and inquisitive. They want to make the most of the opportunities available to them, ask questions, and explore as much as they can during their time at the university.

The excitement of college life, the friendships that are built, the conversations and chit-chat in the corridors, and the desire to do something meaningful at DU all still feel very familiar to me. In many ways, it is this youthful energy that keeps the spirit of the university unchanged, even as the institution itself continues to evolve.

Rahul: Is there any course that you learnt during your time here that you now get to teach? How has that journey been?

Dr Neha: Yes, I studied Print Journalism as a student, and today I get the opportunity to teach it as well. It has been an interesting journey because I now find myself teaching something I once learnt as a student myself.

The fundamental principles we were taught. The accuracy, clarity, verification, structure, and the importance of good reporting remain the foundation of print journalism. However, the field itself has changed tremendously over the years. Technology and digital media, particularly social media, have transformed the way news is gathered, produced, distributed, and consumed.

So, while the principles remain largely the same, teaching print journalism today is very different from what it was when I was a student. In that sense, it has been fascinating to come back to the same subject from the other side of the classroom.

Rahul: What was that one moment in your teaching career, like an epiphany, that made you realise that “yes, this is why I became a professor”?

Dr Neha: I don’t think there has been just one such moment. For me, it has been a series of small moments over the years. Every time I see a student grow, find their confidence, overcome their inhibitions, and go on to do something meaningful, I feel that I am in the right place, doing the right job.

There is a particular sense of satisfaction in watching a student grow not just academically, but also into a more confident, responsible, and thoughtful individual. Seeing that transformation makes all the effort worthwhile. Those moments, rather than one particular incident, are what continue to motivate me as a teacher.

Rahul: Has a student ever taught you something about the subject or maybe about life?

Dr Neha: Teaching is a two-way street. Yes, I enter the classroom as the teacher, but I learn from my students all the time. They bring fresh ideas, different points of view, new trends, and entirely different ways of looking at the world. Sometimes, those perspectives make me pause and rethink my own understanding or opinion.

This is particularly true of journalism because the media landscape is constantly changing. Students often have a very different understanding of how young audiences consume information, how platforms are evolving, and how new forms of storytelling are emerging.

In that sense, every classroom becomes an exchange. I may enter with something to teach, but I often leave having learnt something myself.

Rahul: There’s a common notion among professors that the batches each year are declining in quality, especially post-CUET. Do you feel the same? How do you think we, as students, can challenge that perception?

Dr Neha: I don’t think the quality of students is diminishing. Students today exhibit a high level of confidence and awareness; they bring new perspectives and experiences into the classroom. The best way for students to challenge such a perception is through their work. Stay curious, participate actively, ask questions, be proactive, and make the most of the opportunities available to you. Be willing to learn beyond the syllabus and engage seriously with the world around you.

Rahul: In all these years of having been a student of Delhi University and currently teaching here, what’s that one thing that you wish would never have changed, and one thing you’re glad has changed?

Dr Neha: One thing I hope never changes is the sense of community and the enthusiasm that students bring to university life. The friendships, conversations, debates, disagreements, and the sheer energy of being a student are what make DU special. I hope that spirit continues regardless of how much the university changes with time.

One thing I am glad has changed is the amount of exposure available to students today. Students now have access to many more opportunities, platforms, internships, experiences, and avenues of learning beyond the classroom. They can explore different interests and gain practical experience much earlier, and I think that makes a significant difference to their overall education.

Rahul: If you could sit beside your past student self for five minutes, what would you tell them?

Dr Neha: I would tell my younger self not to stress over everything and to have more confidence in myself. I spent a lot of time worrying about whether I was good enough, whether I was making the right choices, and whether things would work out the way I wanted them to.

I would tell myself to enjoy the journey a little more, take risks, learn from failures, and not be afraid of uncertainty. Not everything has to make sense immediately. There will be moments when you feel lost or unsure, but with time, many things do fall into place. I would simply tell myself to trust the process a little more.

Rahul: This World Teachers’ Day, is there anyone you’d like to thank, maybe a teacher of your own or someone who’s taught you something about life?

Dr Neha: It is difficult to mention just one teacher because I have been fortunate to come across many wonderful teachers during my school years and higher education. Each of them, in their own way, encouraged me, guided me, and helped shape the person I eventually became. They taught me not only through their subjects, but also through their faith in their students, their advice, and the goals they encouraged us to achieve for ourselves. I will always be grateful to them for that.

So, on this World Teachers’ Day, I would like to thank all the teachers who have been part of my journey and have contributed, in one way or another, to shaping the person I am today.

Dr Neha Jingala
Head of the Department, Department of Journalism
Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi

Interview conducted by
Rahul Kumar
[email protected]

Image Credits: Design Team, DU Beat

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ABVP Draws Criticism Over Participation in Miranda House Women’s Safety March

By DU Beat September 28, 2026

ABVP Delhi’s announcement of a “Chalo DU March: For Women’s Safety” from Miranda House to the Faculty of Arts on September 28 has drawn online criticism, with students questioning its participation in a protest presented by organisers as student-led and non-political.

ABVP Delhi’s poster stated that “ABVP and DUSU stand firmly” in support of the call for women’s safety and announced a march from Miranda House to the Faculty of Arts at 3 pm. The announcement came amid student protests across Delhi University following the rape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park.

The Miranda House-led “Hum Auratein Azaad Hain” march was independently organised by students and clearly described as having no political affiliation. The September 28 march was open to women and queer participants and raised demands including improved street lighting, better public transport and safer access to public spaces.

The organisers also circulated a statement objecting to ABVP’s involvement. Social media users responding to ABVP’s announcement similarly questioned the organisation’s participation, pointing out that the march was student-led and urged ABVP not to associate itself with the protest.

The criticism extended to DUSU Secretary Riya Chhawdi, who said she would participate in the protest. In a statement shared online, Chhawdi said she was joining “not because of any political agenda” and not on behalf of a political organisation. She described herself as a woman and the elected female representative of DU, and said women’s safety should not be reduced to a political label.

Chhawdi also urged students to put political differences aside and participate for the issue of women’s safety. Her statement came as DUSU publicly supported the cause. Recent reports have documented separate ABVP demonstrations calling for stronger security measures for women.

The development has highlighted a distinction between the organisers’ stated non-political position and the participation announced by political student organisations. The discussion has since moved online, with students debating whether such involvement could affect how the protest is perceived.

Aarushi Chaubey
[email protected]

Image source: ABVP Delhi

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DUTA Takes Demands to LG, Classes Suspended Across 12 DU Colleges

By DU Beat September 22, 2026

DUTA will hold a Justice March on September 23 over teaching vacancies and the regularisation of long-serving ad-hoc faculty across 12 Delhi government-funded DU colleges.

Classes across 12 Delhi University colleges are expected to be suspended after 10 am on Wednesday, September 23, as the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) will hold a Justice March over the approval of teaching positions and the regularisation of long-serving temporary and ad-hoc faculty.

The march will begin at 10.30 am from Gate No. 1 of the University’s Vice-Chancellor’s Office and proceed towards the Lieutenant Governor’s House. DUTA plans to submit a petition to the Lieutenant Governor, taking its demands beyond the University campus and directly to the Delhi administration.

The association is demanding approval for teaching positions in the 12 Delhi government-funded colleges, along with the immediate initiation of the regularisation and absorption process for teachers who have served on temporary or ad hoc appointments for several years. According to DUTA, the vacancies and continued reliance on temporary appointments have remained a concern for the functioning of these colleges and their teaching staff. In May this year, DUTA raised similar concerns over delays in filling teaching and non-teaching positions across the 12 colleges.

The regularisation of ad hoc faculty has also previously been before the Delhi High Court. In July 2025, the Court ruled in favour of two ad-hoc Assistant Professors seeking regularisation, citing their prolonged service and the circumstances surrounding their appointments. The ruling forms part of the broader legal context around the employment status of teachers who have served for extended periods on temporary appointments.

With DUTA taking its demands to the LG House, Wednesday’s Justice March is set to bring renewed attention to the availability of teaching positions in the 12 colleges and the continued presence of temporary and ad-hoc faculty.

Ahana Dey

[email protected]

Image Source: India Today.com

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DU Partners with AMD to train students in AI and Semiconductor Technologies

By DU Beat September 5, 2026

DU partners with AMD to upskill 10,000 students in AI with hands-on training, open-source tools, cloud GPU credits, and industry-ready learning.

The University of Delhi has partnered with Chipmaker AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) to equip students with industry-relevant artificial intelligence (AI) skills. The two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday to bring AMD’s AI Engage Developer Program to the university.

Under the partnership, students and faculty will gain hands-on access to AMD’s open-source ROCm™ AI software platform, AI learning resources, technical workshops, and GPU cloud credits. The programme also includes access to cloud-based GPU infrastructure, enabling participants to experiment, conduct research, and build real-world AI applications. The initiative aims to train up to 10,000 students within the next year, helping them move beyond theoretical learning to designing, testing, and deploying AI solutions using industry-grade tools.

“India has the talent and the ambition to lead the next wave of AI innovation. The opportunity now is to give students early access to the platforms and tools that power real-world AI development. Through our collaboration with the University of Delhi, we are helping students move from learning AI concepts to building AI solutions,” said Jaya Jagadish, Country Head and Senior Vice President, AMD India.

According to DU, the collaboration is designed to strengthen India’s AI talent pipeline by integrating practical AI education into academic programmes. Alongside classroom learning, students will gain access to modern AI computing platforms and open-source development tools, bridging the gap between academia and industry.

Yogesh Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi, said, “

We are proud to partner with AMD in advancing AI education and innovation in India. This collaboration reflects a growing industry focus on preparing graduates with practical AI skills that extend beyond classroom learning. By combining academic learning with access to modern AI computing platforms, AMD and Delhi University will help create a stronger pipeline of AI developers and researchers to support India’s expanding digital economy.

The initiative forms part of AMD’s broader strategy to strengthen India’s AI ecosystem through academic collaborations, developer enablement, and open AI innovation, while also supporting the country’s growing demand for skilled AI and semiconductor talent.

Kaustubh Dwivedi

[email protected]

Image Source – EnterpriseAI.com

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