Indian university faces backlash for holding exams on Eid holiday

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Delhi University is facing legal and political backlash after refusing to reschedule examinations falling on Eid Al Adha, prompting accusations that Muslim students are being forced to choose between practicing their faith and protecting their academic future.

A law student from the university has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the decision to conduct exams on May 28, the date officially declared by India’s federal government as the Eid holiday.

The petition argues that the university’s decision violates constitutional protections related to equality, religious freedom, dignity and minority rights under Articles 14, 21, 25 and 29 of the Indian Constitution.

The controversy erupted after university authorities announced that May 28 would be observed as an Eid holiday but simultaneously declared that examinations scheduled for the same day would continue without changes, a move that triggered anger among Muslim students and student organizations.

Student activists and Muslim groups described the decision as discriminatory and accused the university administration of disregarding the religious obligations of thousands of Muslim students during one of Islam’s most significant festivals.

“The University administration has actively put its Muslim students in an untenable position,” Ahammed Rabeeh PR, president of the Fraternity Movement at Delhi University, wrote in a letter addressed to the vice chancellor and other senior officials.

The letter said Muslim students were effectively being forced to choose “between their academic future and their basic right to practice their faith.”

The legal petition notes that several constitutional institutions and public authorities, including the Supreme Court of India, had already shifted the Eid holiday to May 28 in accordance with the federal government’s official declaration.

“However, despite officially declaring the holiday on 28.05.2026, the respondent university has arbitrarily decided to continue examinations on the said date,” the plea stated.

During the court proceedings, Delhi University informed the Delhi High Court that students from the minority community or any other student wishing to celebrate Bakrid would be allowed to take separate examinations after July 4 if they informed the dean of the law faculty through email.

The High Court recorded the university’s statement and directed the law faculty to communicate revised examination dates to affected students at least one week in advance.

Muslim student groups said the university’s partial climbdown came only after sustained protests, legal pressure and public backlash.

The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) Delhi unit also condemned the move, saying the decision ignored “religious observance, accessibility, and concerns of thousands of students.”

Left-wing student group AISA similarly demanded immediate rescheduling of the examinations and accused the university authorities of undermining the secular and inclusive principles expected from a public institution.

The dispute has reignited wider concerns among Muslim groups in India who say educational institutions and state bodies increasingly disregard Muslim religious practices and identity under the country’s Hindu nationalist political climate.

Muslim students and rights advocates have repeatedly alleged that public institutions in India apply religious accommodation unevenly, particularly under governments aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).