Next Up on BJP's Target List: Muslim-Founded University Faces Closure

Authorities have ordered the near-total demolition of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, a Muslim-founded institution, in India’s BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.

The Rampur Development Authority's notice requires 38 of the university's 40 buildings to be torn down by August 5, sparing only the medical college and one academic block.

Uttar Pradesh, home to roughly 240 million people, has been governed by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party since 2017 under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk known for anti-Muslim rhetoric and policies.

Students Protest on Campus

Students launched an indefinite sit-in at the university gates after the demolition notice was issued, with many saying the closure would end their careers and invalidate their degrees.

Protesters also pushed back against a counseling center authorities had set up to redirect students to other colleges, questioning why it was created when the demolition deadline was still weeks away; the center temporarily shut down in response.

Impact on Women Students

Rampur ranks ahead of only four of Uttar Pradesh's 75 districts in literacy, according to the 2011 census, and has no other university.

Nearly half of Jauhar University's roughly 2,400 students are women, according to local sources.

Female students choose the university mostly because of the safe environment it offers to female students compared to other universities.

Most of the 30 alternative colleges proposed by the authorities are affiliated with Guru Jambeshwar University, which was established only last year and has no campus yet.

Founder's Political Standing

The university was founded nearly 20 years ago by Azam Khan, its 77-year-old lifelong chancellor and one of the Samajwadi Party's founders.

Khan has been one of the BJP's most vocal critics in the state. The Samajwadi Party draws support from Uttar Pradesh's 38 million Muslims as well as a large share of underprivileged caste Hindu voters.

Nearly 100 legal cases have been filed against Khan since the BJP took power, with about 30 tied to the university, mostly alleging land grabbing for its expansion.

BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi supported the order, saying it is "in line with legal procedures against illegal construction.”