By Shakeel Ahmad
Most of us say politicians are corrupt and must be prevented from taking over the reins of any Muslim institution, particularly of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), one which has such a wide-ranging and deep impact on the fate of Indian Muslims, although lately getting increasingly confined to North Indian Muslims.
Anna Hazare has opened a front already to confront them, not only them, but also their largest institution where fate of all Indians gets written down, changed, or scrapped. So, although politicians can become rulers of our fate, head the ministry of education or defence, rule the country as prime minister, represent our expectations abroad by becoming ambassadors of our motherland, they must not be entrusted the task of managing a university’s thirty thousand students and a few thousand faculty and staff. Why? Because they are corrupt; simple.
Last VC of AMU Prof. Abdul Azis inspecting an MBBS/BDS Entrance Exam in 2010
So, academicians alone should better be entrusted with the onerous task of Vice Chancellorship, particularly because they are not known to be vice; they shape the personalities so that those personalities could become politicians, and governors or country’s presidents thus becoming Chancellors, but not Vice Chancellors. Our respect for the teaching community will never reduce a bit even when a slanderous campaign is launched to do so. Even if millions of hours or currency notes are thrust into such drives, our perception would not change and we would still vouch for their integrity and capabilities; they are our gurus. Except perhaps when we ourselves wear the glass of a politician and see them as not being one of us – being distant because of region or religious belief, mother tongue or political affiliation. Academicians are known for playing all sorts of politics, form associations to boost their political aspirations, are allowed to participate freely in elections or election campaigns, write books on politics. However, despite all of their indulgences in filthy politics, we would never perceive them as corrupt. Until, our own glass gets tinted by the colour of politics. That’s the reason why we cannot even tolerate them as a VC!
Administrative officers, particularly the coveted IAS officers win our hearts without any competition, and we believe they would suit the seat of VC the best. However, we know that these IAS officers have always worked hand-in-gloves with the politicians we hate. We know that the cadre at the top of their mind, when selected, are given the seat of maximum power and corruption. Having interacted very closely with them, it is hard to believe that there are honest officers in the IAS cadre. Look at the pathetic salaries they get, and then look at the lifestyle they are forced to live because of the prestige our society attaches with their position, look at the houses they build for themselves, the properties they keep on owning throughout their career; then call them honest, if you like.
I have had the honour of working very closely with an IAS officer renowned for his honesty, and this gives me the confidence to tell the world there are no saints there. The few who wish to lead a life of piety leave the services early, or get trashed out by the government into insignificant postings where they neither learn the art of governance nor can contribute to the society in any noteworthy manner. In all the major corruption cases who is the first to be sent to jail, after investigation? Hundreds, if not thousands, of them have languished behind bars during the few decades of free India. Can any politician loot the coffers of our country without the active cooperation of the administrative officers? Who trains a naïve politician the art of corruption? Who knows the system best? Who knows the loopholes? Who feels more confident that the robbery would not be detected because his intelligence has taken good care to cover it up; after all, he knows the system inside out. Who feels more confident that his job is secure until retirement, because he has an administrative tribunal to help him if he is accused of any maladministration (as the tribunal members would look at the corrupt deeds of a fellow serviceman)?
So, where is the saint we are looking for?
In the military services? In CBI? In the judiciary? Where shall we get the saint we could recommend as the VC of the alma mater we consider so sacred we would not permit any devil to even set his eyes upon.
Well, will it not be sane to look for the saint among the world of saints? However, it is no secret that when a saint is actually brought into the fray of coveted positions like these, we tell him the job does not suit the saints. Maulana Azad was told by supporters of Jinnah that politics is not the job of Maulanas despite the Maulana being better known as an active politician.
However, can we really find any saint among the saints?
When the entire world looks so dirty, murky and muddled, when our minds are so thoroughly befuddled, chances are it is our own turbid glasses we might be looking out through.
Are we suffering from a self-serving bias? Bias blinds, and self-serving bias blinds absolutely! The entire world knows that the causes of most of our problems lie within ourselves; however, even the brightest stars within AMU whom we admire for their glittering intelligence and commendable contributions cannot realize any causation of the acts or omissions of AMU ills within the campus. Campus? Sorry, I thought they had one!
Can we learn to live with whoever we get as the VC of AMU? But that is a tall order, it demands that we grow up!
—
Shakeel Ahmad is a volunteer with Bihar Anjuman