By TCN News,
Aligarh: Even as the controversy over Raja Mahendra Pratap’s birth anniversary celebrations inside the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus continued, AMU students’ union, the Mushawarati Council of the Jamia Urdu Aligarh and scores of social and cultural organisations and intellectuals have come out in support of the University’s vice chancellor.
AMU vice chancellor Lt General Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) had written to Union HRD minister Smriti Irani to prevent “politicization of the birthday celebration issue.”
“Those who are creating a controversy today are not really interested in celebrating the life of Raja Mahendra Pratap. This is his 126th birthday, why is he suddenly being remembered by the communal fascist forces? Their aim is to polarize the society and create communal tensions in order to fulfill their vicious political interests. These are the same people who have always spread the poison of hatred and anarchy in our society, and today they are bringing their evil designs to destabilize our beloved AMU and spread chaos in this great institution,”
The Students’ Union also blamed “another political party” of Uttar Pradesh, which has no actual love for AMU, to have “also mischievously entered the fray and is only fuelling the communal tensions.”
Earlier, the AMUSU said: “The late Raja Mahendra Pratap was a student of MAO College and an illustrious alumni who is fondly remembered by Aligs all over the world not only for his contribution to the Aligarh Movement but also for his social service and lifelong commitment to fighting the communal forces in this country. He shall be remembered for his secular credentials and his achievements in defeating the communal leaders of his time. AMU has honored his memory by placing his picture beside the picture of Sir Syed along with a plaque detailing his credentials on the walls of our Central Library.”
“However, AMU has a long list of donors and illustrious alumni like Raja Mahendra Pratap who have generously contributed to the cause of setting up a Muslim University at Aligarh. It is not possible to commemorate all of their birthdays as their number goes in thousands,” the Union echoed the line taken by the VC in his letter to Irani.
“The AMU Students’ Union affirms that the evil designs of communal fascists will not be successful in AMU. The entire Alig fraternity stands united in our effort to stop the politics of hate and division from entering our institution,” the release added.
Mushawarati Council of the Jamia Urdu Aligarh too has appreciated and welcomed the initiatives taken by the Vice Chancellor to end the controversy. After a meeting, they passed an unanimous resolution demanding from district administration to identify the trouble makers and communal elements and take action against them so that the city did not witness any communal flare up.
Appreciating the manner in which the Vice Chancellor has taken initiative to amicably settle the controversy on Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh by the BJP and the RSS”, the Council said, “It indicates his farsightedness and patriotism.”
Farhat Ali Khan, OSD of Jamia Urdu Aligarh, while chairing a meeting of the Mushawarati Council, said the AMU is not only a national but global university where students of all religious groups not only study but also live with each other. “They become part of each other’s tradition and culture. The direct attack of the BJP and RSS on this composite culture of AMU is against the policies of development of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he should take its note.”
Shamoon Raza Naqvi , registrar of Jamia Urdu Aligarh, said the appeal which AMU VC has released for students indicates his concerns. Controller of Examination Rizwan Ali Khan said, “Raja Mahendra Pratap had played very important part in freedom struggle. If BJP and RSS love him so much, why did they fail to observe his birth anniversary till now? Why have they not demanded to install his statue in the Parliament?”
Legal officer Raghui Raj Singh the AMU Vice Chancellor is former army man and his patriotism cannot be doubted. The AMU community, particularly the students, should strengthen the steps taken by the Vice Chancellor to end the controversy.
Many social and cultural organisations and intellectuals of Aligarh too have come out in support of Shah in the ongoing controversy. Calling the politicization as unfortunate, Prof Razaulla Khan, chairing a joint meeting of different social and cultural NGOs of Aligarh, said that despite the best efforts by the AMU VC, the BJP and RSS leadership is bent upon to destroy the communal harmony for achieving their political goals.
Jasim Mohammad, secretary of Millat Bedari Muhim Committee said Shah himself took the initiative to bury the controversy but still the BJP and RSS, including one section of the AMU community, are bent upon direct confrontation. “We should not forget that terrorist Swami Asimanand citing terrorist Pragya Thakur and others had said in his statement before the court that ‘the AMU was also on our target’. The present controversy and threat of direct confrontation by the BJP are part of bigger conspiracies and we have to foil it,” Mohammad claimed in a release.
AMU Court Member Prof Humayun Murad said the history of BJP is testimony that it has always indulged in religious polarisation and the current controversy is part of that. Former chairman of History, AMU Prof Shahabuddin Iraqi said the section of AMU, which is opposing Shah’s step for a respectable and amicable settlement of controversy must understand that it is also opposing policies of Sir Syed, who always avoided confrontations to achieve his goals.
Dr Aftab Alam said that the state government and the district administration should take the threats of extremist sections of all political parties to divide the civil society on communal lines seriously.
Saba Khan said AMU is an example of communal harmony not on national level but globally. Nikhat Parveen said in every institution, birth anniversary of only the founder is celebrated and that the demand of the BJP for birth anniversary function for Raja Mahendar Pratap is “just a political one.”