We hereby share a statement published by the Revolutionary Students’ Front (RSF).

We, the Revolutionary Students’ Front, strongly condemn the autocratic actions of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) administration. The students’ protest, which began on September 19, 2024, was a legitimate response to the administration’s failure to address their grievances regarding unhygienic conditions in the campus mess. The situation escalated with the brutal deployment of CRPF [Editor’s note: Indian paramilitary unit] and police against protesting students, highlighting the brahminical fascist rule of BJP-RSS’s increasing tendency to militarize educational campuses.

Furthermore the university authority’s decision to shift to online classes and forcefully vacate the hostels in a deliberate attempt to suppress the students’ voice will have devastating consequences on their academic performance. As most of the students at MANUU come from marginalized backgrounds, this decision will disproportionately affect them, denying them access to education. The student union elections, which were scheduled to take place on 24th September, have been cancelled by the authorities as well, suppressing the democratic rights of students. On 10th December, amid the ongoing protest, instead of addressing the issues faced by the students, the university administration in an autocratic manner, issued an order expelling several students from hostels, barring them from future admissions, and requiring them to sign undertakings under the draconian MANUU Students Conduct & Discipline Rules, 2014. Additionally, 13 students were served notices under BNSS (Section 35(6)) [Editor’s note: Indian Penal Code] with police involvement.

We call forward all the democratic people and organisations to stand in solidarity with the students of MANUU, who are fighting for their democratic rights, dignity, and education. We demand that the university administration take immediate action to address the students’ grievances, reinstate the expelled students, withdraw the police notices and allow student union elections to take place in a free and fair manner.