For 20 years, Jamia Millia Islamia has had no student union. In a central university in a democratic country, that is not a small gap. Representation is a democratic right, and a union is how students put their problems before the administration. It is also where leaders are made. Student unions are what shape and nurture leaders. Many who go on to become members of Parliament and Vidhan Sabhas, across every party, begin at a student union. If students have no space to pursue their political aspirations and dreams, how will promising leaders ever reach those houses? Without a union, nobody speaks for us, and nobody is being groomed to speak for the country tomorrow.That is why I stopped eating.AdvertisementIn practice, the absence of a union means our voice is constantly suppressed. There is no real right to dissent or to expression on this campus. When students raise a concern, the administration’s instinct is to penalise them rather than listen. I know this from my own experience. A month ago, I protested against what we call admission chori: Irregularities and malpractice in sports admissions and reservation criteria. We only asked for transparency. Some of the cases we raised were later resolved by the university, which means it accepted that something was wrong. Even so, I was given a 10-day campus ban.Also Read | Neha Bora: What should worry us is not that people continue to protest — but when they begin to fear doing soI am not the only one. When students protested the food quality at the J&K hostel, one of them was evicted from the hostel. A PhD student who protested at the central canteen was given a five-day campus ban. There are many such examples, and together they show that there is no space for dissent in Jamia.The pattern is familiar. The administration does not address the issue. It delays. It accepts memorandum after memorandum, lets time pass, and the issue fades. And it intimidates through show-cause notices, campus bans, and suspension orders. Sometimes this is direct, but often, it is indirect. The message is the same either way.AdvertisementThat is why we chose a hunger strike. We had exhausted every other form of protest, including the memorandums we have been submitting for a very long time. None of it bore fruit. As a last resort, we gave our health and our bodies to this protest. I don’t believe any other method would make this administration take notice. Restoring a union that has been absent for two decades is a big demand, and nothing less than a hunger strike matches it.What has moved me most is the solidarity. After the protest began, students from one department after another joined, and the numbers grew day by day. The protest is now led by common students, not by any individual, not even by me. Every student at Jamia understands why a union is urgent, and they know our idea. The support of ordinary students is with us.Which brings me to the university’s order on October 26. It is very vague. The administration says it will approve a constitution, and that elections will follow after 15 days. But it gives no guidelines and no timeline for making the constitution. And even the 15 days leave me asking why. After the constitution is approved, it could be 20 days, 30 days, two months, six months, or even the next academic session. I fear this is how they delay, disperse the crowd, and never reinstate the union.you may likeThe second problem is the part of the notice dealing with suspensions and show-cause notices. The university says only the show-cause notices and suspensions will be revoked. It does not mention the other punishments. I was given a one-year rustication, and another student was given a six-month campus ban. They are not ready to include any of that.So our position has not changed. We have said all along that we want the constitution drafted and approved within a fixed and short period, and election dates fixed within 15 days after the approval of the constitution, with a notification that clearly says so. We are weak and tired. But we will continue as long as we can, even if we are detained, because we do not intend to compromise on these demands.The writer is a third-year law student at Jamia Millia Ismalia. He has been on a hunger strike for 16 days