New Delhi: Jamia Millia Islamia’s green signal for student union elections has brought the spotlight back to the faculty’s long-standing demand for reinstating the Jamia Teacher’s Association (JTA). The university is yet to put into action a Delhi high court order which quashed an administrative diktat by former Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar, through which she had dissolved the JTA.On October 28 last year, Delhi high court held:“The Constitution of India guarantees not merely the right to form an association but also the right to continue the association with its chosen composition and internal governance.” Citing a Supreme Court precedent, the high court held that “any law or action interfering with the composition of an association without satisfying the conditions of Article 19(4), would render the right under Article 19(1)(c) ineffective and meaningless”.The university administration had argued that the JTA constitution had not been formally recognised or registered under any statutory authority of the university. Relying on Section 23(j) of the Jamia Millia Islamia Act, 1988 – which allows the university to “provide for” the establishment and recognition of the students’ union or association of teachers, academic staff or other employee” – the administration had claimed that the university possessed the authority to establish, recognise, regulate and, if necessary, dissolve associations of teachers and staff.It had also argued that since the prerequisite for membership in the JTA was for the member to be a teacher at Jamia Millia Islamia, therefore, the university retained the authority to oversee, regulate and, if necessary, restructure or dissolve the association. It went on to claim that the action by VC Najma Akhtar was taken to ensure institutional discipline and alignment with statutory norms.The Delhi high court rejected Jamia’s argument and ruled in favour of the teachers, observing that “the exercise of any of the fundamental rights like the right of free speech, right of freedom of religion or the right of freedom of association cannot be made subject to the discretionary control of administrative or executive authority which can grant or withhold permission to exercise such right at its discretion”.Why did JMI dissolve the Jamia Teachers’ Association?The Jamia Teachers’ Association, constituted in 1967, was an autonomous body of teachers of the university. It was governed by a self-regulated constitution and administered through an Executive Committee (EC) elected by its members. As the tenure of the EC election in 2020 was to continue till November 25, 2022, the EC had passed a resolution on October 19, 2022 to hold fresh elections.Also read: Courting Hindutva: The Unmaking of Jamia Millia IslamiaProfessor Sonya Gupta, the founder and director of the Centre for Spanish and Latin American Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia was asked to conduct the elections as Returning Officer. She issued a notification announcing the date of election as November 23, 2022 and the administration was duly informed.In November 2022, the university administration issued a show cause notice alleging Professor Gupta’s appointment as Returning Officer was illegal. Between November 17–18, orders were issued that nullified the pending elections, the JTA was dissolved, its office was sealed, the office bearers were restricted from using the premises and finances of the association and the members were restrained from attending or conducting any meetings.Professor Sonya Gupta was suspended for 20 months. Many claimed the JTA was raising issues of administrative mismanagement that then Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar did not wish to address.It has been a year since the Delhi high court ruled in favour of the teachers, but the university has still not reinstated the JTA. Many feel that the latest stand-off between the administration and students could have been contained had the JTA been functional.A crucial forum for mediating is missing“Had the Jamia Teacher’s Association been available as a platform, it would have been able to play a mediating role between the administration and the students,” says Professor Sonya Gupta, who has since retired. “A crucial forum for mediating is absent. I feel bad about it. I feel this matter could have been resolved through dialogue, and it would have saved everyone from what was unfolding.”Current and retired faculty members feel that the university administration has been delaying implementation of the high court order because it does not want to provide teachers with a platform to question its decisions.“The JTA was disbanded by administrative fiat. A senior professor was suspended for agreeing to be the Returning Officer for the teachers’ association elections that were never held. The teachers were a frightened lot. Once, when I suggested that we should have a discussion on Gandhiji and Palestine, it was quickly shot down, anticipating objections from the administration. Faculty self-censorship came in very handy for the administration,” says Professor Gopinath Ravindran, who recently retired from the Department of History and Culture.The Vice Chancellor’s office and the administration have also been accused of co-opting the faculty’s voice.“‘Managed’ statements from heads, directors and deans who are duty bound to support the administration if they want to continue in their offices, can by no stretch of the imagination be taken as ‘teacher support’,” says Professor Gopinath referring to a press release issued on October 27 by the Chief Public Relations Officer of the university.The press release was titled “JMI Teachers Condemn Political Interference and Attempts by ‘outsiders’ to Destabilise Campus”.This statement had referred, among other things, to teacher experiencing “disappointment” over “external forces and actors” turning a university matter into a “larger political confrontation”, despite “exemplary efforts” by the administration to resolve a two-decade-old issue of students.Also read: Jamia Millia Islamia Students Fight for a Union Despite Admin IntimidationDuring the student agitation, faculty members had been issuing statements under the aegis of ‘Concerned Faculty of Jamia Millia Islamia’, through which they had accused the administration of trying to “drive a wedge between the faculty and the student community”, with the October 27 press release seen as one such instance.“The time has come for teachers to forcefully demand the restoration of the JTA. Else the administration’s voice will masquerade as the opinion of the teachers of Jamia,” said Professor Gopinath, adding, “intellectuals must maintain a critical distance from any administrative apparatus”.“When we see this kind of formulation by the administration, saying that teachers are upset…we need our voices to stand out sharply,” says another faculty member who did not wish to be named.When the students’ hunger strike was still underway last month, and attempts at negotiations between students and administration were underway, The Wire had spoken to former Professor Syed Inayat Ali Zaidi. He had pointed out that students “have doubts” about how their community can rely on the promises made by the JMI administration when, despite the high court order, the administration has not reinstated the JTA.“Instead of handing over the keys of the JTA office to the incumbent elected members, the administration created obstacles,” Professor Zaidi had said.The Jamia administration may have provided a timeline for holding student union elections but it has a lot of ground to cover before democracy can truly be restored on the campus.Seemi Pasha is an independent journalist and filmmaker based in Delhi.