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AMU VC meets protesting students, assuages feelings
Aligarh In an unexpected turn of events, vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Prof Tariq Mansoor on Thursday met students sitting on protest on the
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Aligarh In an unexpected turn of events, vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Prof Tariq Mansoor on Thursday met students sitting on protest on the campus and assured that the varsity administration was fully committed to providing them security and a congenial atmosphere .
The VC, who is facing criticism for allowing police on campus on the night of December 15, said that the police entry was an aberration and the university should function on its own.
“Police should have no role in the working of the AMU and law and order should be maintained by the university. The varsity administration is fully committed to providing security and a congenial atmosphere to the students,” said the vice chancellor who met the students without any security cover and went out of his way to categorically state that no innocent student would be targeted and that the university had no problem if the students peacefully protested on any issue they found objectionable.
AMU spokesperson Prof Shafey Kidwai and PRO Omar S Peerzada informed that the VC urged the students to cooperate with the visiting National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team and the fact-finding committee headed by Justice V K Gupta (Former chief justice of the high courts of Jharkand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand) set up by the university for a detailed investigation on what transpired on the night of December 15, in which a score of students were injured.
The VC emphasised that the university administration was providing all assistance to the NHRC team. Expressing deep regrets, Prof Mansoor said, “I deeply regret that students suffered injuries and the inconvenience they faced when they were asked to vacate hostels.”
He urged students to not believe in rumours and provocative and false posts on social media and assured he would talk to students of all faculties on their return.
The vice chancellor also clarified that the university administration gave permission to the police only to bring the situation under control and restore order and that the police personnel were not supposed to enter any residential hostel on the night of December 15.
Meanwhile, the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act continued as teachers under the banner of Aligarh Muslim University Teachers Association (AMUTA) staged a march on the campus. The students also staged a march with placards in their hands. The Tricolor was conspicuous in all protests.
“The CAA enshrines a pathway to citizenship for immigrants that specifically excludes Muslims, setting a legal criterion for citizenship based on religion. The CAA is a dangerous turn in the wrong direction; it runs counter to India’s rich history of secular pluralism and the Indian Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law regardless of faith. We fear that the government is creating a religious test for Indian citizenship that would strip citizenship from millions of true Indian citizens,” said AMUTA secretary Prof Nazrul Islam.
