By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Aligarh: The Administration of Aligarh Muslim University has suspended Mohd. Adil Hossain, a student of Mass Communication, for “incessantly indulging in rumour mongering, canard spreading, defaming the Aligarh Muslim University and depicting the entire institutional infrastructure and administrative apparatus in the poor light.”
The June 3, 2010 suspension order says the student has lowered down and tarnished the image of the University by resorting to and misusing the Internet (AMU Network). “He is continuously making misstatements, averments and utterances without any plausible proof or credible evidence on Internet on www.yahoo.com hosted website [email protected] and [email protected] and other AMU related websites.”
The university has cited some incidents or issues on which the student allegedly tried to defame the university. They include the murder of an AMU student last year, installation of the CCTV cameras and some alleged corruption allegations.
Hossain, who hails from West Bengal, however, terms the AMU action on his expression of views on Internet as an example of medieval mindset.
“At a time when China is being criticized by the entire world for internet censoring and putting the activists behind the bars for blogging and commenting on websites, at a time when people even in democracies like Iran has chosen the internet as the tool to discuss their issues and grievances, the Aligarh Muslim University administration showing the medieval mindset and acting like the islamic autocratic state that it recently showed in the Dr.Siras case where they suspended him for being homosexual has placed me under suspension and ordered a campus ban for allegedly ‘lowered down and tarnished the image of the university by resorting to and misusing the Internet’.”
He further says: “This is a dangerous development in a democratic country like India where every citizen have the fundamental right of Freedom of Speech and Expression under 19(1)(c) of the Indian Constitution. Today If I can be suspended for writing on two Yahoo Groups viz. TheAligarhForum & WorldofAligs( Social Networking sites of AMU Old Boys with strength of more than 5000) hosted on the website groups.yahoo.com, there can be easily possible that in future student from Aligarh Muslim University can be suspended for criticizing the AMU administration on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook or Orkut.”
However, the AMU administration says the student has been acting like a “student supra” for long.
“He was suspended earlier also from the rolls of University on November 4, 2009 along with five other students for forcing the University to close on the issue of the murder of Mr. Shahnawaz Alam that took place at an infamous restaurant near Railway Station outside the campus. Mr. Adil and his group were found guilty of misconduct and indiscipline under part II rule 4(i), (iii), (iv), (vii) and (xxvii) of AMU Students’ Conduct and Discipline Rules, 1985,” says Dr Rahat Abrar, PRO, AMU.
Giving details of his earlier conduct, Dr Abrar says: “A group of students and criminals instigated and led by Mr. Adil and his friends reached Railway Station on 26th October and squattered on tracks disrupting the main National railway line from Delhi to whole of North-East including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Orissa. The mainline was blocked for five hours causing a lot of anxiety to the nation and inconvenience to thousands of travelers commuting through a large number of trains. They further led the mob and Bab-e-Syed, the main entrance of the campus was locked and closed. After delivering fiery speeches they staged Dharna followed by hunger strike… According to Proctor’s letter, Mr. Adil was also a party to spoiling the peaceful academic ambience of campus and he was in the fore front of instigating the general students with their so-called agitation on a non-issue.
“When the University was closed in utter despair to avoid any tragic event in the campus, Mr. Adil along with some students went to I. G. Hall and Abdullah Hall to stop the girl students from going to their homes. The objective behind the move was to further aggravate the crisis by involving girls and exposing them to all kinds of avoidable vulnerability,” he says.
Dr Abrar informs that before his November 2009 suspension was revoked, Adil Hossain had submitted an ‘Undertaking’ on December 2, 2009 that he was “misguided and deeply regretted” for the same. “In his undertaking, he further maintained that he is also fully aware that AMU Students’ Conduct and Discipline Rules, 1985 which does not permit him to such misconduct. “I give this unequivocal undertaking that in future I will fully abide by the AMU Students’ Conduct and Discipline Rules, 1985”.
But the decision to suspend him again was taken on June 3, 2010 as the Proctor “observed that Mr. Mohd. Adil Hossain has been reported to have incessantly indulged in rumour mongering, canard spreading, defaming the University and depicting the entire institutional infrastructure and administrative apparatus in the poor light.”
Moreover, “the student supra has also collected a mob of resident members of Aftab Hall, S. S. Hall (South) and S. S. Hall (North) instigating them to block the main University Road from S. S. Hall, Sir Syed House and V.C. Lodge sides and thereby the work of electricity restoration in progress was hindered in the night between 01/02 June 2010 from 9:00 to 10:45 p.m.”
“The Vice-Chancellor, therefore, has ordered to place the student supra under suspension from the roll of the University forthwith pending detailed enquiry and AMU Campus is placed out of bound for him except when required by the Proctor, reads the June 3, 2010 suspension order.