Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is one of the three universities enshrined in the Constitution of India as “Institutions of National Importance”. It has been constantly graded at the apex of Indian universities by international and Indian ranking agencies. It has done path-breaking research in harnessing nano-technology for agriculture, recycling waste water and desalination of saline water. Its scientists are involved in cleaning India’s sacred rivers. The next revolution of solar energy for automotive purposes will emerge from AMUs laboratories.
But the university has always been in the eye of the storm and subjected to negative publicity for all the wrong reasons. It is a modern secular university with an Islamic ethos which probably galls a lot of people who do not understand or value the “Ganga Jamuni Tahzeeb” the institution epitomises. Contrary to misconceived perceptions, admissions are open to all irrespective of religion, caste, creed or colour, through open competitive examinations.
The university is wrongly accused of harbouring anti-national sentiments and we have taken pains to explain that criticism of the government should in no way be construed as an anti-national activity. Academic freedom is necessary as long as it does not transgress or endanger national sentiments or security.
There have been concerted attempts to draw AMU into needless controversies in the recent past. During my tenure there was negative publicity about girls being banned from entry in the University Central Library. What was not brought out was that there was no such ban on female post graduate students. There was a restriction only on under graduate girls because of paucity of space and because the Women’s College had a library of their own. They could however draw books online from the Central Library. No one mentioned that there were similar restrictions in Delhi and Mumbai for colleges which had libraries of their own.
There was a controversy on the celebration of Raja Mahendra Pratap’s birth anniversary in the campus in 2014. There are hundreds of donors – we don’t celebrate everyone’s birthdays in the campus. Eventually we had to hold a seminar in the face of these protests and demands.
What do people need to do in order to prove their integrity? My name is Zameer Uddin Shah. Do I need to change my name to prove my Indianness?
Don’t be snared into a trap. Be calm in the face of adversity. I appeal to all students to shun violence and diffuse the situation. Talk with detractors, if you must. Resorting to violence will lead to reaction by the civil administration and only Aligs and AMU will be hurt.
[The views expressed belong solely to the author, and may not reflect the opinions of the editorial team]