Jamia Millia Islamia University has cancelled the admission of scholar Safoora Zargar, who was arrested in the 2020 Delhi riots case.
Zargar was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The prosecution had alleged that she made an “inflammatory speech” on February 23, 2020, that led to violence and rioting in North East Delhi, leaving at least 53 people dead and hundreds injured over the next three days.
Zargar was granted bail in June 2020 on humanitarian grounds because she was pregnant.
On Monday, Zargar shared on Twitter that her admission was cancelled by the university. She was enrolled in the sociology department in the integrated MPhil-PhD programme.
In a notification dated August 26, the office of the dean (faculty of social sciences) said that Zargar’s progress report was deemed unsatisfactory by the supervisor.
“The scholar did not apply for an extension as a woman scholar before the expiry of stipulated maximum period,” the notification stated. “The scholar did not submit her MPhil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters plus one additional semester of Covid extension that was also given to her, which ended on February 6, 2022.”
The dean’s office mentioned that the action has been initiated against Zargar on the recommendation of the Research Advisory Committee on July 5 and the Departmental Research Committee on August 22. The Board of Studies approved the cancellation of her admission, the notification added.
“Hence, the registration of Safoora Zargar from M.Phil-Ph.D. [Sociology] stands cancelled w.e.f. 22 August 2022, in anticipation of the approval of the same of the Faculty Committee,” the notification read.
On Monday, Zargar said the decision “breaks my heart, but not my spirit”.
“The usually snail-paced Jamia admin moving at light speed to cancel my admission, foregoing all due process,” she wrote on Twitter.
Last week, Zargar wrote on Twitter that her application to extend the deadline for MPhil thesis submission had been put on hold for eight months.
“Since December 2021, I have been made to run from pillar to post for extensions that are easily given to other scholars in the university,” she wrote. “I have faced severe abuse at the hands of my supervisor and my department.”
On August 24, she wrote to Najma Akhtar, the vice chancellor of Jamia, alleging that she was being harassed by the administration, PTI reported.
“While UGC has granted five consecutive Covid extensions I have been given only one,” the letter read. “I was forced to apply for an extension under the women scholar category, only to be denied after months citing ‘unsatisfactory progress’. This is in clear violation of the guidelines laid down by the University Grants Commission and points to the malafide intentions of the supervisor and the department.”
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