A professor at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Delhi, has been suspended after a question he set in a semester examination sparked widespread outrage and controversy on social media. In response, the university has formed an inquiry committee to investigate the matter, officials said.&nbsp;The row revolves around a 15-mark question in the BA (Hons) Social Work first-semester examination, which was held earlier this week for the paper titled 'Social Problems in India'. The question paper, created by Prof Virendra Balaji Shahare, asked students, "Discuss the atrocities against Muslim minorities in India, giving suitable examples".&nbsp;After receiving complaints, the university said it viewed the matter seriously, citing negligence and a lack of due care by the faculty member. "An inquiry committee has been formed to examine the issue. Until the committee submits its report, the concerned professor has been placed under suspension," a university official said, NDTV reported. The official added that the decision was taken to ensure academic accountability and maintain institutional discipline.<h3>No FIR against the professor</h3>An order issued by officiating registrar CA Sheikh Safiullah, which circulated widely on social media, confirmed the suspension “until further orders.” The order also noted that "Prof Shahare's headquarters during the suspension period would be New Delhi and he shall not leave the headquarters without prior permission of the Competent Authority".&nbsp;In addition, the same order mentioned that "as per rules", a police FIR would also be filed. Later, university officials clarified that at present there was no intention to register an FIR against the professor. "There is no proposal to file any police case against the faculty member. The matter is being examined internally through a committee," an official said.&nbsp;The issue further came to light after Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, shared the suspension notice on the social media platform X. "Jamia Millia Islamia is a central university with a mixed student community. The question shows malicious intent," Gupta wrote, criticising the question paper.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Jamia Millia Islamia suspends Social Work Dept professor for extremely provocative and communally polarising question in Semester 1 question paper. Inquiry ordered. FIR being filed. JMI is a Central University with a mixed student community. The question shows malicious intent. <a href="https://t.co/GSHzJOsg2o">pic.twitter.com/GSHzJOsg2o</a>&mdash; Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanchanGupta/status/2003402246479081739?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While Jamia Millia Islamia has not released a detailed public statement beyond the suspension notice, sources said the inquiry committee will look into how the question was drafted and cleared, and assess whether it breached university rules or examination guidelines.

While Jamia Millia Islamia has not released a detailed public statement beyond the suspension notice, sources said the inquiry committee will look into how the question was drafted and cleared, and assess whether it breached university rules or examination guidelines.

A professor at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Delhi, has been suspended after a question he set in a semester examination sparked widespread outrage and controversy on social media. In response, the university has formed an inquiry committee to investigate the matter, officials said. The row revolves around a 15-mark question in the BA (Hons) Social Work first-semester examination, which was held earlier this week for the paper titled 'Social Problems in India'. The question paper, created by Prof Virendra Balaji Shahare, asked students, "Discuss the atrocities against Muslim minorities in India, giving suitable examples". After receiving complaints, the university said it viewed the matter seriously, citing negligence and a lack of due care by the faculty member. "An inquiry committee has been formed to examine the issue. Until the committee submits its report, the concerned professor has been placed under suspension," a university official said, NDTV reported. The official added that the decision was taken to ensure academic accountability and maintain institutional discipline. No FIR against the professor An order issued by officiating registrar CA Sheikh Safiullah, which circulated widely on social media, confirmed the suspension “until further orders.” The order also noted that "Prof Shahare's headquarters during the suspension period would be New Delhi and he shall not leave the headquarters without prior permission of the Competent Authority". In addition, the same order mentioned that "as per rules", a police FIR would also be filed. Later, university officials clarified that at present there was no intention to register an FIR against the professor. "There is no proposal to file any police case against the faculty member. The matter is being examined internally through a committee," an official said. The issue further came to light after Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, shared the suspension notice on the social media platform X. "Jamia Millia Islamia is a central university with a mixed student community. The question shows malicious intent," Gupta wrote, criticising the question paper.

Jamia suspends professor over 'atrocities against Muslims' question in semester exam

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Jamia suspends professor over 'atrocities against Muslims' question in semester exam