Tag: Northeast Delhi riots

  • ‘Breaks my heart, not spirit’, says activist Safoora Zargar’s after Jamia cancels her admission

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University has cancelled the admission of scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, who was arrested in a 2020 riots case, due to “unsatisfactory” progress in her thesis work.

    Zargar, who had enrolled with the Department of Sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme, said the cancellation “breaks my heart but not my spirit”.

    In a notification dated August 26, office of the dean, Faculty of Social Science, said she did not submit her M.Phil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters.

    “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.

    The dean’s office mentioned that the action has been taken on the recommendation given by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5.

    “In anticipation of the approval of the same of the Faculty committee”The usually snail-paced Jamia admin moving at light speed to cancel my admission, foregoing all due process.Let it be known, it breaks my heart but not my spirit. pic.twitter.com/2t0Nos9qiK
    — Safoora Zargar (@SafooraZargar) August 29, 2022
    The matter was approved by the department’s Board of Studies, the highest decision-making body of the department, on August 22.

    “On the recommendation of the RAC, dated July 5, the DRC (Department Research Committee) dated August 22, and the supervisor’s report, the Board of Studies approved the cancellation of admission of Safoora Zargar, M.Phil./Ph.D Scholar, registered under Prof. Kulwinder Kaur,” the notification further read.

    The administration claimed that her supervisor marked her performance “unsatisfactory” in the progress report, that she did not apply for an extension as a ‘woman scholar’ before the expiry of the stipulated maximum period.

    “The scholar did not submit her M.Phil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters plus on an additional semester of Covid extension (sixth semester) that was also given to her, which ended on February 6,” the notification mentioned.

    Zargar, meanwhile, took to Twitter to point out how quickly her admission cancellation was approved.

    “”The usually snail-paced Jamia admin moving at light speed to cancel my admission, foregoing all due process. Let it be known, it breaks my heart but not my spirit,” Zargar tweeted.

    Zargar and some Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leaders have been accused of being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi.

    Last week, she had tweeted that her application for an extension of MPhil thesis submission has been put on hold for over eight months.

    She had told PTI that the administration was not responding to her application.

    On Wednesday, she had written to Jamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar that she was being subjected to undue harassment and ridicule at the hands of the administration.

    “While UGC has granted five consecutive Covid extensions I have been given only one. 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 UGC (University Grants Commission) and points to the malafide intentions of the supervisor and the department. I will be taking all remedial action available to me,” the letter read.

    A day later, the university had issued a statement saying Zargar did not complete her dissertation before the expiry of the Covid extension that came to an end on Februrary 6, and there was no provision for any further Covid extension as per the UGC notification as the scholar had been claiming.

    NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University has cancelled the admission of scholar and activist Safoora Zargar, who was arrested in a 2020 riots case, due to “unsatisfactory” progress in her thesis work.

    Zargar, who had enrolled with the Department of Sociology in the integrated MPhil/PhD programme, said the cancellation “breaks my heart but not my spirit”.

    In a notification dated August 26, office of the dean, Faculty of Social Science, said she did not submit her M.Phil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters.

    “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.

    The dean’s office mentioned that the action has been taken on the recommendation given by the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) on July 5.

    “In anticipation of the approval of the same of the Faculty committee”
    The usually snail-paced Jamia admin moving at light speed to cancel my admission, foregoing all due process.
    Let it be known, it breaks my heart but not my spirit. pic.twitter.com/2t0Nos9qiK
    — Safoora Zargar (@SafooraZargar) August 29, 2022
    The matter was approved by the department’s Board of Studies, the highest decision-making body of the department, on August 22.

    “On the recommendation of the RAC, dated July 5, the DRC (Department Research Committee) dated August 22, and the supervisor’s report, the Board of Studies approved the cancellation of admission of Safoora Zargar, M.Phil./Ph.D Scholar, registered under Prof. Kulwinder Kaur,” the notification further read.

    The administration claimed that her supervisor marked her performance “unsatisfactory” in the progress report, that she did not apply for an extension as a ‘woman scholar’ before the expiry of the stipulated maximum period.

    “The scholar did not submit her M.Phil dissertation within the maximum stipulated time of five semesters plus on an additional semester of Covid extension (sixth semester) that was also given to her, which ended on February 6,” the notification mentioned.

    Zargar, meanwhile, took to Twitter to point out how quickly her admission cancellation was approved.

    “”The usually snail-paced Jamia admin moving at light speed to cancel my admission, foregoing all due process. Let it be known, it breaks my heart but not my spirit,” Zargar tweeted.

    Zargar and some Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leaders have been accused of being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi.

    Last week, she had tweeted that her application for an extension of MPhil thesis submission has been put on hold for over eight months.

    She had told PTI that the administration was not responding to her application.

    On Wednesday, she had written to Jamia Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar that she was being subjected to undue harassment and ridicule at the hands of the administration.

    “While UGC has granted five consecutive Covid extensions I have been given only one. 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 UGC (University Grants Commission) and points to the malafide intentions of the supervisor and the department. I will be taking all remedial action available to me,” the letter read.

    A day later, the university had issued a statement saying Zargar did not complete her dissertation before the expiry of the Covid extension that came to an end on Februrary 6, and there was no provision for any further Covid extension as per the UGC notification as the scholar had been claiming.

  • Mission to secure release of other political prisoners: Student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha, who was released on bail after being arrested under the UAPA in connection with the northeast Delhi riots, on Tuesday said securing the release of other political prisoners is their mission now.

    Tanha, who walked out of Tihar last week, met his mother, who had come down from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. A Jamia Millia Islamia student, Tanha also expressed his gratitude towards his friends, his organisation Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) and civil society members who raised their voice for him and other political prisoners like him.

    Before I write anything else, I want to express gratitude to God, who gave me courage during my to bear the atrocities of jail and the mental stress of court proceedings.2/n
    — Asif Iqbal Tanha (@AsifTanhaJamia) June 22, 2021

    “I want to say and write a lot, but the most important thing to emphasize that while Devangana, Natasha and my release is a moment of joy but not a victory. Many of our friends are still languishing behind bars, Securing their release and putting a stop on the misuse of UAPA is our next mission. I hope that all those who have been arrested 4 Delhi Pogrom & Bhima Koregaon will be free soon & we will all once again crowd the streets, revive our democracy and establish social justice,” he said in a series of tweets.

    While thanking God, who “gave me courage… to bear the atrocities of jail and the mental stress of court proceedings’, he said that his mother and family were his greatest source of “courage and patience” after him.

    “Coming out of jail after 13 months and meeting my mother, family, friends and fellow activists, I feel like a caged bird who found a new sky. This sky is much higher, weather more pleasant and inviting for a long flight,” he said on Twitter.

    The HC had on June 15 granted bail to Tanha and JNU students Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal saying in an anxiety to suppress dissent the State has blurred the line between right to protest and terrorist activity and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a “sad day for democracy”.