Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), a centrally funded public university, has once again landed in fresh controversy over the bias in its academic curriculum. According to students, the B.A. (Hons) Social Work, Semester I examination paper asked them to write on “the atrocities against Muslim minorities in India, giving suitable examples” for a 15-mark question. The issue has sparked a wider social debate on whether state-run educational institutions are promoting a communal and divisive agenda, putting the university on the brink of extreme radicalisation.
The concern lies in the pre-judged communists’ propagated narrative, which assumes that atrocities are committed only against Muslims in India, while the reality is very different. Such an examination question systematically ignores other grave and well-documented human rights atrocities inflicted by Islamic fundamentalists against Hindus in Bharat. These include the Kashmiri Hindu genocide, attacks on Ram Navami and Durga Visarjan processions, Moplah riots, Delhi riots, and many other communal incidents that have shaped the country’s modern history. Despite being part of the broader discourse on social injustice, these issues are conspicuously absent from the department’s examination questions.
Question in a paper by social work department of Jamia Millia Islamia college – “DISCUSS ATROCITIES AGAINST MUSLIMS IN INDIA GIVING SUITABLE EXAMPLES”
Jamia is a state-run university. On our tax money, they are teaching how to only remember Akhlaq and totally ignore Ram Gopal… pic.twitter.com/GaD65TjczS
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) December 22, 2025
Jamia’s Social Work syllabus includes atrocities against SC/STs and minorities, but the recent exam focused solely on one community. This biased approach risks training students to recognize injustice only when it fits a selective narrative, raising serious concerns about academic fairness and inclusivity.
The question paper was prepared under the supervision of Dr. Virendra Balaji Sahare, who also teaches the same course. The episode has intensified long-standing allegations that parts of the institution are being shaped by a rigid Islamic fundamentalist outlook, transforming a taxpayer-funded university into a platform for ideological conditioning rather than providing holistic and inclusive education. Such an approach undermines the core purpose of social work education, which is to address injustice across all communities without prejudice.
The controversy also echoes earlier findings from the 2024 report led by retired Justice S.N. Dhingra, which highlighted allegations of discrimination against non-Muslims at Jamia Millia Islamia. A separate fact-finding report by the NGO Call for Justice, based on depositions from students and teachers, alleged mental harassment and unequal treatment within the university. The present exam question is being viewed as part of the same broader pattern of institutional bias.
Another major concern is the portrayal of sustained victimhood of one community without acknowledging extremist violence or radical actions carried out in the name of religion. In a diverse and sensitive society like Bharat, such teaching is dangerous, as it may normalize selective outrage and weaken social unity. Training students to view complex social conflicts through a single communal prism risks distorting reality and erasing the suffering of other victimized groups.
The absence of equal representation of all communities’ suffering in academic assessments raises serious questions about whether education is being used as a tool for awareness or as a means to impose a one-sided, radical ideological narrative.
