Protest at India university where no students’ union vote held for 20 years
Jamia Millia Islamia campus in Indian capital has seen weeks of protests, with several students holding a hunger strike.
New Delhi, India – Today is the 18th day of an indefinite hunger strike for Ebin Basil, a third-year student of law at Jamia Millia Islamia, a prominent Muslim university on the southeastern edge of the Indian capital.
Basil, 23, has been fasting since October 12 for the restoration of the university’s students’ union, which has been suspended for the past 20 years.
Surrounded by dozens of friends and supporters, he remains resolute as his frail body lies on a mat inside the university’s political science department building. “Till my last breath, I will be fighting,” he told Al Jazeera.
“We are continuing this protest because we have not got a proper election date. We do not trust the Jamia administration,” said the 23-year-old student from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, accusing the authorities of acting at the behest of the federal government controlled by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is known for its anti-Muslim policies.