Share your story and shine at JK Monitor!🌟 Welcome to JK Monitor, where every story matters and every achievement is celebrated! We invite you to share the remarkable journey of your life and showcase your accomplishments to the world. Join our exclusive interviews that honor exceptional individuals just like you. SRINAGAR: The Jammu & Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Saturday served a legal notice on Uttar Pradesh Minister of State Thakur Raghuraj Singh over his alleged defamatory and communally inflammatory remarks describing Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) as “hotbeds of terrorism” and “terrorist hubs”, besides threatening to shut down both premier educational institutions. The Association has demanded an unconditional public apology, withdrawal of the remarks and a written undertaking against making similar statements in the future.
The legal notice, issued through the Association's legal counsel, Advocate Shakir Mushtaq Parray, has been served on behalf of JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami and National Spokesperson Dr. Zubair Reshi. It calls upon the minister to retract his remarks made during an interview on November 10, 2026, in which he allegedly described AMU and JMI as centres of terrorism and threatened to shut down both universities.
The Association said such statements by a person holding ministerial office were deeply irresponsible and could have serious implications for students, researchers, faculty members and alumni of the two Central universities. It pointed out that thousands of students from Jammu and Kashmir are pursuing higher education across the country, including at AMU and JMI, and that branding these institutions as terrorist hubs undermines their sense of security and exposes them to prejudice and discrimination.
National Convenor of Association Nasir Khuehami said public representatives holding constitutional and ministerial responsibilities must exercise restraint and responsibility rather than resort to rhetoric that stigmatises educational institutions and their students.
“AMU and Jamia are prestigious Central universities that have made immense contributions to India's education, research, public service and nation-building. Labelling them as hotbeds of terrorism and questioning the patriotism of their students is deeply damaging. Such remarks communalise education, stigmatise entire student communities and create an atmosphere of suspicion, exposing students, particularly those from Jammu and Kashmir, to profiling, harassment and discrimination. No student should have to prove their patriotism because of the university they attend or their regional or religious identity. Educational institutions must remain spaces of learning, dialogue and intellectual engagement, not targets of communal narratives,” Khuehami said.
The Association further emphasised that AMU and JMI are integral to India's educational heritage and nation-building, with distinguished contributions across political, administrative, academic, sporting and cultural fields. It said branding these historic institutions as centres of terrorism was an affront to generations of students, scholars and alumni who have contributed to the country.
The legal notice also refers to the minister's previous alleged remarks against madrasas and Muslims, including his November 2021 description of madrasas as “hideouts of terrorists” and subsequent remarks in November 2025 allegedly branding AMU a “hub of terrorists” and claiming that educated Muslims become bigger terrorists. It states that the minister has failed to provide credible documentary, judicial or official evidence to substantiate these allegations. The notice invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, alleging offences relating to promoting enmity, prejudicing national integration and criminal defamation.
The Association has given the minister seven days from receipt of the notice to publicly and formally retract his statements, tender an unconditional apology to the students, researchers, faculty members and alumni of AMU and JMI, and furnish all documentary, judicial or official material relied upon to substantiate his allegations. It has also sought a written undertaking that he will refrain from making or circulating similar statements in the future.
Khuehami said the Association would pursue appropriate legal remedies if the minister failed to comply within the stipulated period. The notice warns that non-compliance would prompt the initiation of criminal proceedings under the relevant provisions of the BNS, recourse to the Superintendent of Police and the competent Judicial Magistrate under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the event of police inaction, and appropriate proceedings before the Allahabad High Court or the Supreme Court under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution.
