On Eid-ul-Adha, as a public holiday was observed across much of the country, students of Delhi University (DU) entered the examination halls. The exam started at 9:00 am; At 9:28 a.m., the university’s official X account (formerly Twitter) posted one important exam updateto inform students that those who cannot appear due to oath will have the opportunity to retake the exam after July 4th. However, at the time this update was published, students had already started writing their papers.
A few days earlier, on May 25, after DU issued a notification clarifying that May 28 was a public holiday but the exams would be held as scheduled, three separate writ petitions were filed in the Delhi High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to postpone the exams. The petitions argued that scheduling exams on a public holiday was arbitrary and violated various fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 21, 25, 26 and 29.
The university’s lawyer responded that students from minority communities who want to celebrate Eid can send an email to the dean of the law school by May 27, a day before the exam, and their work will be postponed. Justice Jasmeet Singh accepted this and dismissed the petitions, observing that the university’s stance was fair and reasonable. Even this limited relief only applied to law school students. Thousands from other departments had no choice at all.
Meanwhile, several student organizations approached the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Controller of Examinations (CoE) and DU Registrar to raise concerns regarding examinations on Eid. However, this was in vain. The day before Eid, students gathered near DU’s examination department to demand a postponement. Videos circulating on various news channels and social media showed security personnel outside the exam department brutally dragging and abusing students. Hundreds of security guards were deployed, but the university denied any fight.
What looked like an election on paper didn’t feel like an election in practice. Therefore, decisions were made under pressure, in haste, without clarity, without time and in the absence of viable alternatives. The real question, however, is not whether an alternative was offered or not. The question is who was asked to adapt and why this keeps happening.
In reality, what felt reasonable in the courtroom seemed very different in the classroom. The students were only given one day to decide. That’s not enough time to process the confusion and consequences. The official announcement came after the exam had already begun. Many students were unsure of the impact withdrawing would have on their results or timetable and simply decided to appear for their exams. What looked like an election on paper didn’t feel like an election in practice. Therefore, decisions were made under pressure, in haste, without clarity, without time and in the absence of viable alternatives. The real question, however, is not whether an alternative was offered or not. The question is who was asked to adapt and why this keeps happening.
Who is the academic calendar created for?
No unsubscribe email is required for Diwali or Dussehra. Holi does not require students to justify their absence. These holidays are seamlessly integrated into the academic calendar without the need to provide your identity or seek administrative approval. However, for Eid, the burden shifts to the student. You must first identify yourself, submit an application and then wait for approval in order to observe the holiday officially recognized as a holiday by the institution. This is not an isolated administrative error. It’s a pattern. And these patterns tell us something about who these institutions are built for and who is excluded.
No unsubscribe email is required for Diwali or Dussehra. Holi does not require students to justify their absence. These holidays are seamlessly integrated into the academic calendar without the need to provide your identity or seek administrative approval. However, for Eid, the burden shifts to the student.
This pattern of exclusion becomes clear when compared to other planning decisions made by the same administration. During the same exam cycle, DU postponed several postgraduate and professional exams between May 20 and 25 due to “unavoidable circumstances” and directed departments to prepare new date sheets. The “unavoidable circumstances” were not disclosed; However, students have their suspicions, for example about other important exams that fall on the same date or due to political events.
Last year, the university had no hesitation in postponing exams for students affected by Operation Sindoor. This was announced by the institution in good time and the students were given a reasonable period of time to apply. There was no need for a last-minute email to the dean, nor was there any notification after exams began. This clearly shows that entire examination windows were revised several times when the situation required it. There is clearly an opportunity to postpone exams. The question is when and for whom it will be exercised.
In addition, the decision to take the exam later has consequences for the students. DU is expected to complete all exams and have summer holidays from June 16th. The students who have withdrawn must take their exams during this break. While others finally get some time to rest, these students still need to study. You endure the stress of exams for longer and lose the chance of an annual break. There are also questions about assessment consistency: Will the exam be the same difficulty? Will the assessment be fair? Are they discriminated against or punished? These questions arise naturally because even if institutions want to be fair, this intention cannot necessarily be translated into reality.
This is not limited to students either. Teaching and non-teaching staff as invigilators, as well as administrative and logistical staff were also expected to be present during the conduct of the examinations. Students were at least given the option to opt out at the last minute, even if it was meaningless, but staff were given no choice at all. And this isn’t the first time. DU drew attention in 2023 Ask employees to work on Eid. Teachers’ organizations such as the Democratic Teachers Front called it an insensitive and deliberate attempt to exclude a particular community. Yet the same thing was accepted repeatedly and without much resistance. This tells us something deeper: how this has been normalized even though it is anything but.
Exclusion by design
This is part of a larger culture in which different religions are treated differently on the same campus. Festivals associated with specific religions are routinely celebrated and seamlessly integrated into institutional spaces. Delhi University is a government institution with no religious affiliation. It is a central university where students from different religious and social backgrounds study. Still, students who want to celebrate their festival on a statutory holiday often face backlash and must rely on last-minute permits, requests and approvals. This inequality is important.
Problematic comments are often referred to as “jokes” in casual conversation, but they reflect a larger unease about Muslim religious practice in educational institutions like DU. Therefore, such planning decisions do not exist in a vacuum; They are symptomatic of an intolerant climate.
Selective diversity is not the same as diversity. And beyond the exam decision, some students felt uneasy about how Eid was discussed in student circles. Problematic comments are often referred to as “jokes” in casual conversation, but they reflect a larger unease about Muslim religious practice in educational institutions like DU. Therefore, such planning decisions do not exist in a vacuum; They are symptomatic of an intolerant climate.
This is not just about personal religious practices. Not every Muslim student actively celebrates Eid, nor is it celebrated exclusively by Muslim students. But that’s not the point here. It’s about the way institutions are designed, about which communities have life and rhythms built into the system by default and which have to constantly seek approval to be included.
It’s unsettling to be in a place where the standard was never created for people like me. The experience of feeling like you are of secondary importance in your own country, at your own university, is not easy to articulate. Still, it’s a feeling that’s hard to ignore.
Growing up in a Muslim family in rural Kerala, where people shared the same beliefs and celebrated the same festivals, I never felt that my identity needed an explanation. When I came to DU, I felt like I was thrown into a parallel universe. I have seen how institutions that appear neutral can marginalize people from minority communities. It’s unsettling to be in a place where the standard was never created for people like me. The experience of feeling like you are of secondary importance in your own country, at your own university, is not easy to articulate. Still, it’s a feeling that’s hard to ignore.
Universities should be spaces in which… Diversity is not only acknowledged, but taken into account without excuses. A recording that is dependent on email requests and government approvals is not a recording; it is a permission. The court found the university’s argument to be fair because the students were given an option from a procedural perspective. But for many students, especially Muslim students at DU, this option was meaningless. The expectation is not that the university will grant special privileges to Muslim students, but that they will be treated like everyone else. The fact that this continues to require petitions, pressure and protests shows that equality does not apply to everyone. For some, it remains conditional, something that has to be demanded, negotiated and fought for every time.
Shabnam K is a law student at Delhi University. Having previously worked in the development sector, her interests lie at the intersection of law and society.
