The circular dated December 27 had caused fear among J&K students as the collected information had to be provided to the Aligarh Superintendent of Police.
Huneza Khan | TwoCircles.net
ALIGARH (UTTAR PRADESH) — After backlash from the students, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has withdrawn the controversial order that demanded students from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to furnish their complete details to the authorities.
The circular, issued on December 27, instilled fear among J&K students as the collected information had to be provided to the Aligarh Superintendent of Police.
The students had termed the circular a “breach of privacy”. The circular sought details such as the student’s name, father’s name, present and permanent address, class/course, and mobile numbers.
Nasir Khuehami, the national convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Student Association (JKSA), a student body, condemned the issuance of such a circular and called it “discriminatory.”
He questioned why the circular was specifically issued for J&K students (who are reportedly 1400 in number) when there are thousands of students from different regions of the country enrolled at the university.
“We ask the Aligarh Muslim University administration how can you do this. It is a breach of privacy that goes against the ethos of the Indian Constitution,” he said.
He said that the circular caused distress to J&K students.
Authorities Withdraw Circular Of Profiling J&K Students in AMU.
No sort of profiling will be done in any Department of AMU and it's affiliated Schools. Students should not feel worried now. Thanks Authorities for Considering our request. @AMUofficialPRO @HMOIndia @AmitShah pic.twitter.com/a0d5ZzbLeS— Nasir Khuehami (ناصر کہویہامی) (@NasirKhuehami) January 4, 2023
Irfan Basheer, a research scholar at Aligarh Muslim University, expressed relief with the withdrawal of the circular. “We issued a notice strongly opposing the circular. It has finally been cancelled,” Basheer said.
He said it was shocking for many Kashmiri students to hear about the circular. “A large number of students saw the circular in connection with the December 25 incident on the campus where a gun was waived against J&K students,” he said.
Basheer, who has been studying at AMU for nearly a decade, said that AMU authorities cannot take such a step without consulting the students.
He said he has not come across any such incident in the past where data was sought about a particular community. He called it an onslaught on the cultural ethos and diversity of AMU.
“We have been pushed to the wall and forced to hit the streets. We must be in our classrooms and laboratories and yet we are getting embroiled in this because of wisdomless politics,” Basheer added.
Another J&K student Zubair Altaf Reshi told TwoCircles.net why should students furnish information in this way when all such information is already available with the university administration.
“There was something fishy about it,” he said.
Altaf, who is a research scholar, said that when students reached out to administrative officials for clarification, they called it a routine affair.
“How could it be a routine when none of the students from other regions was asked to furnish such information? The recent incident with the J&K students in AMU has already left us traumatized,” he said.
Altaf said the circular made their parents anxious. “They are scared about our safety and keep asking us what is happening,” he said.
The aggrieved J&K students have demanded the AMU authorities and the district administration of Aligarh to explain the reason behind the circular.
“We have a right to know why they are demanding our information and what purposes they want to use it,” Altaf added.
Huneza Khan is a journalist from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. She tweets @KhanHuneza
[Edited by Irfan Mehraj. Tweets at @IrfanMeraj]