At a crowded platform in Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi, 35-year-old Raju Prasad and his family prepare to leave the capital after months of struggling to secure basic necessities. Having migrated from Uttar Pradesh less than a year ago in search of work, Prasad now says the rising cost of food and an acute shortage of cooking fuel have made it impossible for his family to survive in the city.

Prasad, who worked as a ragpicker alongside his wife, said the family earned about 500 rupees per day through long hours of manual labour. However, the depletion of their cooking gas supply nearly two weeks ago marked a turning point. With no access to affordable replacements and limited alternatives, their savings were quickly exhausted. He said the family initially resorted to collecting firewood, but even that option has since run out, forcing them to return to their village in Gorakhpur.

The situation reflects a broader trend unfolding across urban centres in India, where supply disruptions linked to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have driven up fuel prices and reduced availability. The shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), widely used for cooking in urban households and small businesses, has had cascading effects on food access and affordability, particularly among migrant workers and low-income groups.

In the same railway station, 25-year-old Sarfaraz, a construction worker from Bihar, waits for funds from his family to purchase a ticket home. Employed at the construction site of the Jewar Noida International Airport, he said his daily wage of around 550 rupees was no longer sufficient to cover rising living costs. His gas supply ran out nearly 20 days ago, and he has been unable to secure a replacement due to both shortages and sharply inflated prices in informal markets.

Sarfaraz said the cost of a gas cylinder has increased from approximately 900 rupees to as high as 4,500 rupees in the black market, placing it beyond reach for most daily wage earners. He added that food prices outside have also doubled, limiting access to even basic meals. “I’ve not had proper food for the past two days,” he said, noting that his savings had been depleted.

Urban food systems in cities such as Delhi rely heavily on a dense network of small eateries, roadside vendors, and informal food services that depend on LPG for daily operations. The shortage has disrupted these networks, leading to closures, reduced menus, and higher prices. This has disproportionately affected migrant workers, students, and other low-income residents who depend on inexpensive prepared food rather than home cooking.Restaurant owners report significant operational challenges.

Anil, who has managed a small restaurant in Nehru Place for three decades, said he has never experienced a similar disruption. He confirmed that rising input costs have forced him to increase menu prices while removing several items. He has also reverted to traditional cooking methods using a chulha, or open-fire stove, which is slower and less efficient.

Anil added that declining customer footfall and higher operational costs are putting pressure on his business and workforce. With around 10 employees dependent on the establishment, he said prolonged disruption could lead to job losses if conditions do not improve.

Government representatives acknowledge supply constraints but maintain that efforts are underway to stabilize distribution. Praveen Shankar Kapoor, spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi, said authorities are working to address shortages in both domestic and commercial LPG supply chains. He stated that while consumers using formal booking systems are receiving cylinders, smaller users particularly those relying on 5kg cylinders are facing greater challenges.

Kapoor noted that migrant workers and students often fall outside the formal distribution framework, as they are typically not registered under domestic gas consumer schemes. This has left them dependent on informal markets where prices have surged.Students have also reported significant disruption.

At Jamia Millia Islamia, many students from low-income backgrounds depend on shared accommodation and affordable canteen services.

Farheen Naaz, a media student from West Bengal, said she has not had access to cooking gas for 10 days and has been skipping meals as a result. She added that several university canteens have shut down, while those still operating have raised prices.

Naaz said the situation is affecting the health of students, particularly those living in shared housing arrangements. In her accommodation, which houses around 50 women, residents are facing similar constraints due to both fuel shortages and rising food costs.

The shortage has also affected markets for alternative cooking solutions. Retailers report a sharp increase in demand for electric appliances such as induction cooktops and rice cookers. Ahmad, a wholesale trader at ZamZam Crockery, said prices for induction stoves have risen from around 1,300 rupees to 5,000 rupees. He attributed the increase to upstream supply constraints and higher input costs, adding that prices for many electrical cooking appliances have risen significantly.

The convergence of fuel shortages, rising food prices, and limited access to affordable alternatives has triggered a reverse migration pattern in urban centres. Migrant workers, who form a substantial portion of the informal workforce in cities like Delhi, are increasingly returning to their home villages where food access is relatively more secure and traditional cooking methods remain viable.

At railway stations, scenes of families departing with limited belongings have become more frequent. For many, the decision to leave reflects not only economic strain but also the breakdown of essential urban support systems that sustain daily life for low-income populations.

As Sarfaraz continues to wait for funds to complete his journey home, he checks his phone repeatedly, hoping to join others boarding trains out of the city. His situation underscores the immediate pressures faced by migrant workers, whose livelihoods are closely tied to volatile urban conditions and limited social safety nets.

On August 4, the proposal was brought up during a meeting of the university’s executive council.

The NEP-2020 strongly promotes the internationalisation of higher education and encourages top-ranked educational institutions in India to establish offshore campuses in various regions of the world, according to the agenda document from Jamia, a copy of which is with TOI.

The third-ranked institution in the nation for two years running thanks to NIRF, Jamia Millia Islamia is a high-performing Indian university with an A++ grade from the NAAC. It also has a decent international ranking from Times Higher Education and QS. By establishing a campus in Dubai, Jamia Millia Islamia hopes to start a new chapter in the internationalisation of Indian higher education. The university is asking the ministry of education for help.

The reason Dubai was chosen, according to the agenda sheet, is that more than 50% of its residents are Indian or have Indian ancestry.

The basic, intermediate, and senior secondary education of the children of the expat population is handled by a sizable number of Indian schools in Dubai. The existence of numerous private colleges, including those in India, demonstrates the enormous need for high-quality higher education in Dubai. According to the text, many colleges and universities fall short of Jamia Millia Islamia’s reputation in the Middle East.

It claimed that many students travel to North America and Europe and spend a fortune earning degrees because Dubai lacks high-quality higher education.

Pradhan quoted Zakir Hussain as saying, “Education is the breath of our democratic life,” during the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) centenary year convocation. Consider education to be life’s primary informant. The only thing that can offer us a shared outlook on the future and inspire moral and intellectual vigor in us is education. Old ideals that are worth preserving can only be preserved through education.

“Zakir Husaain frequently remarked that education offers us the insight into which traditional values are worth clinging to and which ones to discard. Those working toward the future can acquire new ideals through education alone, he continued.

Speaking to the students in attendance, Pradhan said the university played a significant part in the nation’s freedom movement and that, in the coming 25 years, it will hold the top spot in terms of delivering intellectual leadership.

“Jamia was founded to advance the cause of our independence. Our freedom has now lasted 75 years, and the Jamia leadership significantly contributed to that success. I have no doubt that Jamia will hold the top spot in providing intellectual leadership for the nation’s ‘Amrit Kaal’ in the ensuing 25 years,” he stated.

He added that India’s National Education Policy (NEP), which was created 100 years after Jamia was established, will assist the institution in the future in producing individuals who are globally literate.

The Prime Minister stated that India will serve as a bridge between the western world and the global south. “Our country is in the situation today where we are taking on the duty to host the G20 presidency. Jamia will serve as one of the key pillars of that bridge. I have no doubt that Jamia, via NEP, will generate citizens who are accountable for the world, stated the Union Minister of Education.

“We won’t convert Jamia into a hospital; instead, we will use it as an urban research hub for issues related to global health,” he continued.

On Sunday, the JMI hosted its centennial year convocation for graduates from the 2019 and 2020 academic years. At the convocation, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar was also present. During the convocation, over 12,500 students, including gold medalists who graduated in 2019 and 2020, received degrees and diplomas.

I don’t think I can ever feel completely safe, either in the girls’ hostel or on campus

Bengaluru (Reuters) – One of India’s most famous universities is half-empty and some students who are on campus track each other on mobile devices to ensure people are safe, as violent clashes spill on to campuses that are seen as a hotbed of anti-government protests.

The country has been rocked by demonstrations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new citizenship law that some say discriminates against Muslims. At least 25 people have died and thousands of people have been arrested.

Many of the most visible and persistent protests have been in and around universities, and some students now fear for their safety following clashes with police and unidentified mobs in recent weeks.

“I don’t think I can ever feel completely safe, either in the girls’ hostel or on campus,” said Nayla Khwaja, a student at New Delhi’s renowned Jamia Millia Islamia university.

Last month police smashed their way into the institution, firing tear gas shells as scores of terrified students barricaded doors and hid inside bathrooms.

Weeks on from the violence, large parts of the college remain deserted, with some parents refusing to allow students who flock to the university from all parts of India to return.

Less than half of the 20,000-strong student population is back on campus for the new semester, according to college chief proctor Waseem Ahmad Khan.

Beyond the capital, protests have also erupted in colleges in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.

In some cases they have spilled into nearby town squares, with citizens holding Indian flags and demanding the revocation of the law in the most sustained opposition to Modi since he first swept to power in 2014.

Students say they are concerned about further attacks which they blame on right-wing groups tied to the ruling Hindu nationalists.

“There is an environment of fear that was never seen before,” said Saheb Samanta, a PHD scholar in Kolkata’s Jadavpur University.

Students have taken to sharing live locations on WhatsApp with friends when attending a protest or going to class so they know who is where, a dozen students enrolled in universities in Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata told Reuters.

“We are keeping some basic checks in place. Letting friends know where we are and also sometimes walking in groups within campus. This really wasn’t necessary before,” said a masters student at Jadavpur University.

Like others who described the extra precautions, she declined to give her name out of concern for her safety.

“There were continuous sounds of tear gas,” she said. “They were just beating any students they saw so cruelly.”

New Delhi (Reuters) – As dusk fell on Sunday, police smashed their way into the main library of New Delhi’s Jamia Millia University, firing tear gas shells as scores of terrified students barricaded doors and hid inside bathrooms to protect themselves.

Video footage shot by a student inside the library and reviewed by Reuters shows dozens of young students – including several women – scrambling for cover, cowering beneath desks, and jumping over metal and broken glass dividers as they attempted to flee.

More than 600 students sought shelter inside the building as violence raged around the university in southeast Delhi, after thousands gathered to protest a controversial new citizenship law that has sparked days of violent unrest.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government insists the Citizenship Amendment Act is necessary to help persecuted minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who settled in India before 2015.

But the move has triggered a severe backlash, with widespread clashes in the country’s north and a rash of protests across universities – including in Jamia.

On Sunday, some protesters set buses alight and battled stick-wielding policemen on a major thoroughfare nearby.

In a statement, the student community of Jamia said they disassociated themselves from the violence, which was perpetrated by some elements to discredit their peaceful protests.

Asad Malik, a lecturer in Jamia’s law department, said school officials had stood by the campus gates, checking ID cards to ensure only students entered the nearly 100-year-old public university amid the chaos on Sunday.

However, police said some vandals did manage to enter Jamia and officers only followed them into the campus after they were pelted with stones from inside the university.

“Miscreants and rowdy elements had entered the university and police went inside the campus chasing this crowd, to pull them out,” M.S. Randhawa, a police spokesman told reporters on Monday.

Malik, however, said when police started shooting tear gas inside the university, there were only students inside.

Saliha P.P., a 22-year-old master’s student, said she was on the Jamia campus when she saw more than 100 policemen storm the campus, fire tear gas and charge students with batons.

“There were continuous sounds of tear gas,” she said. “They were just beating any students they saw so cruelly.”

On Monday morning, sections of university library lay in ruins. Windows were smashed, chairs lay broken and scattered. Crushed glass covered corridors and tables.

Reuters witnesses saw tear gas shells and blood splattered on the library floor. At least two surveillance cameras had been smashed.

Jamia’s Vice Chancellor Najma Akhtar said police had entered the campus without permission, injuring around 200 students. The university, which has a large number of Muslim students, plans to seek a government enquiry into the violence.

“The brutality with which they behaved with students is not acceptable,” she told media on Monday.

At least five students told Reuters they did not see any women police personnel among the force that stormed the campus, as is required by law in India when females are on the scene.

A police spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the allegations of brutality or the reported absence of female officers.

Picture Courtesy Insider.