Jamia Millia Islamia cancels Activist Safoora Zargar admission
30 August, 2022 | Pranay Lad
Safoora Zargar is an activist and academic who rose to prominence as a result of her claimed involvement in the Anti-CAA Protests. On August 29, 2022, the 29-year-old announced on Twitter that Jami...
Safoora Zargar is an activist and academic who rose to prominence as a result of her claimed involvement in the Anti-CAA Protests. On August 29, 2022, the 29-year-old announced on Twitter that Jamia Millia Islamia had revoked her acceptance to the M.Phil degree in the Department of Sociology.
She said on Twitter that Jamia Millia Islamia had cancelled her M.Phil admission with effect from August 22, 2022. Zargar’s admittance was cancelled, according to an official notification given by the university, since “her progress report by her supervisor was inadequate” and she did not ask for an extension as a women scholar.
The notification also said that Zargar’s enrollment was revoked since she had not completed her M.Phil dissertation within the allotted time frame of six semesters. The normal time frame is five semesters, however, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, a sixth semester was added.
When Safoora Zargar was three months pregnant, she was detained by Delhi Police in April 2020. She was detained and prosecuted under the UAPA Act for her suspected role in the anti-CAA protests. Zargar was granted bail four times by the Delhi High Court and discharged on June 24, 2022. Zargar got accepted into Jamia Millia Islamia’s combined M.Phil and Ph.D. programme.
The dean’s office stated that action was taken on the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) proposal on July 5. On August 22, the Board of Studies, the department’s top decision-making body, authorised the matter.
“On the recommendation of the RAC, dated July 5, the DRC (Department Research Committee), dated August 22, and the supervisor’s report,” the notification continued, “the Board of Studies approved the cancellation of admission of Safoora Zargar, M.Phil./Ph.D Scholar, registered under Prof. Kulwinder Kaur.”
The administration said that her supervisor assessed her performance in the progress report as “unsatisfactory,” and that she did not seek an extension as a woman scholar’ before the statutory maximum duration expired.
“The scholar did not submit her M.Phil dissertation within the maximum required period of five semesters plus an additional semester of Covid extension (sixth semester), which concluded on February 6,” according to the notification.