By Kulsum Mustafa, TwoCircles.net,
Aligarh: It is not very common for any alumni association to declare war against its own parent body. Certainly not when the institution enjoys enviable popularity and is as old as 110 years. But the Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association, comprising nearly 5,000 registered former students of the University are up in arms against what they are terming as a well designed move of the university administration to dilute the residential status of the AMU.
These old boys are led by veterans like former Rajya Sabha MP and visitor’s nominee to the Executive Council of AMU, Wasim Ahmed and former tourism minister in Uttar Pradesh, Kawkab Hameed, just to name a few. They assert that these protests and agitations are their way of expressing their deep love for their Alma Mater. They assert that their chief concern is that if these centers are opened outside the AMU, students will flock to them as they will be closer home. AMU, they fear, will then lose much of its sheen that it has enjoyed in the last over one century.
The protests by these old boys which is against the present regime, which is headed by Vice –Chancellor, Professor P K Abdul Aziz, culminated into a convention organized by AMU old boys at Aligarh on 19th June 2010.
Mr. Wasim Ahmed at this convention openly questioned Mr. Azis’s claim that the decision to open special centers of the University was cleared by the governing bodies of the institution. He alleged that the University officials were playing with word. What was actually cleared at the council meeting was to establish “centers for advanced studies and research. And not De facto affiliated institutions of routine graduate studies involving some Rs 2000 odd crores for Bihar, Kerala and West Bengal.
Mr Aziz, however, has time and again categorically rejected allegations that the decision to establish such centres throughout India was illegal and against the letter and spirit of the founding objectives of the institution.
The AMU old boys have termed the decision of the VC as against the interest of the University itself. Addressing a press conference on the eve of the convention on 18th June, General Secretary of the AMU Old Boys Association Kawkab Hameed told news persons that the AMU fraternity considers this move as a “threat to the minority and residential character of the AMU.”
“All the members of this 110-year-old Varsity are deeply distressed at this arbitrary move of the VC. It is not an attempt to expand the University but a well planned vicious design to slowly finish off AMU,” alleged Mr. Hameed while speaking to TwoCircles.net at the Old Boys Lodge. He said the truth is that these centers will serve no purpose but will only reduce the residential character of the AMU.
Under the AMU constitution, the Old Boys Association enjoys a statutory status and has representation in all the governing bodies of the University. He said that a residential university for the Muslims in general and others in particular was the dream of Sir Syed and the present administration is attempting to shatter this dream.
Hameed said that it was “unfortunate” that Mr. Aziz had decided to spearhead the move to establish the centers. AMU, he said, has nearly 30,000 residential students. If these centers are opened then students from far of places will not come here.
Asserting that if he wants to establish these centers he will first have to amend the University constitution as Section 12/2 of the AMU Act any such special centre can only be established within 25 kilometers of the campus.
He alleged that the same VC made no efforts to get an IIT for AMU. This would have been a big morale boost for AMU. According to Mr. Hameed the AMU medical college is in bad shape and requires change in both the infrastructure as well as equipments. He urged the university to be upgraded Mr. Hameed said that the VC must make efforts to strengthen the AMU instead of diluting its powers and position.
“If corrective steps are not taken right away, I shudder to think what will happen to AMU after 10 years.”
[Photo by www.columbia.edu]