Jamia hostel mess protest escalates as students, varsity trade charges

A protest over the quality of food in the mess of Jamia Millia Islamia's Jammu and Kashmir Girls' Hostel escalated over the weekend, with the students' body and the university administration trading competing accounts of the events.

The All India Students' Association (AISA) said on Saturday that an Assistant Proctor, Maqsood Ahmad Malik, manhandled and assaulted a student near the Dean of Students' Welfare office around 1 a.m. on Friday, after the electricity supply was switched off. The student body said several students sustained minor injuries in the commotion that followed.

According to AISA, the students continued their sit-in through the night near Centenary Gate despite the power outage. It also alleged that Gate No. 13 was shut and barricaded in three layers, which it described as an attempt to isolate those protesting.

The agitation began on Thursday, when students complained about the food served in the mess, alleging that insects and foreign objects were regularly found in their meals. They have demanded an immediate change of the mess vendor, the recruitment of female staff, and a written assurance from the administration that no disciplinary action will be taken against participants in the agitation.

Jamia Millia Islamia rejected the assault allegation and instead accused the students of escalating the situation. A university spokesperson said the students broke two gates of the girls' hostel, putting everyone's security at risk, and manhandled members of the proctorial team. Officials also said most of the students' demands had already been accepted on the first day of the protest, and that the demonstrators were not at the designated protest site near Gate No. 18.

The university further clarified that lights in parts of the campus are routinely switched off to save energy, and that the move was unrelated to the protest.