New Proctor Appointed in AMU : We are Skeptical

Professor Jamshed SIddiqui has resigned as the Proctor of ‪AMU‬ and he is replaced by Dr. Mohd. Asif Khan (Department of Commerce).

The former proctorial team was unsuccessful in controlling violent fringe elements in the campus. Though we are skeptical of the newly appointed proctor but we sincerely hope that our reservations prove wrong and the new team will successfully handle violent goons and maintain peace and order in the campus.

Ameen Ahmad's speech On Gandhi Jayanti

Countering Mr. Imtiyaz Akhtar's allegations on AMU - by Riad Azam

Mr. Imtiyaz Akhtar, an alumnus of AMU wrote an article (link here) alleging AMU to have become a "radical-right" campus where progressive voices are stifled & "talibanization" is predominant. Our Member Riad Azam counters his allegations by giving factual arguments & proving that AMU is a multicultural campus. Read his response by clicking here.

An Optimist's Analysis of AMUSU Elections 2012-13

AMU is a very unique world in itself. Just as when we start assuming that we are well versed with every aspect of this university, it offers new phenomenon to leave us baffled & in utter surprise. Aligarh Muslim University’s Students Union (AMUSU) Elections of 2012-13 is the latest event that has again proven that there are some newly seen patterns which demand in-depth reflections from all interested parties. These recently emerging patterns offer many positives which should be capitalized by those who are genuinely interested in the welfare of AMU.

                    AMUSU elections are indeed an event of national importance. With Jamia Millia Islamia’s administration banning Students’ Union in their university, AMUSU is the only students’ organization that has some legitimacy of claiming to represent the Indian Muslims in general & Indian Muslim youth in particular. Therefore, whatever happens in these elections & whoever gets elected requires a thorough analysis. This current election was pretty much different from the earlier two elections that I have witnessed. First, no printed posters were allowed to be pasted & university buildings were not defaced as the authorities maintained strict vigil & even minor violations were quickly responded with show-cause notices to the candidates. Second, the minimum 75 % attendance rule was strictly enforced leaving many candidates’ nomination papers cancelled. Third, the students were less enthusiastic this time around in comparison to the last two elections owing to multiple factors such as late holding of elections, corruption & dismal performance of last Students’ Union, relatively less number of eligible candidates, etc.

                      The election days are one of the most exciting times in the whole academic session. Every candidate was seen bent & offering salaam making an angle of almost 90 degrees. Every Tom, Dick & Harryclaimed to have at least 100 to 200 voters under his command. The sales of Cigarettes, Petrol & Tea had skyrocketed. The engines of the bikes asked for mercy due to constant noise created by the accelerators of bikes. Since, there was a ban on printed   posters the volunteers of the candidates came up with more creative posters created with sketch-pens & in some cases, even by Aerosol sprays. Candidates by-passed the directions of no-posters on University walls by pasting their hand-made posters on virtually every tree (as trees can’t be considered a wall) of the campus. Sir Syed (North) Hall was made their “office” by most of the candidates while other halls were  almost silent spectators of the elections. It was also quite common to see promises being done, of betrayals being committed by one’s own trusted “friends”, pacts done by regional lobbyists & rhetorical promises of the candidates.

                One of the positives that can be drawn from this election is the seemingly declining influence of highest- level regional seniors-cum-University mafia on the general students. The reason is attributed to the  less frequent interaction of Seniors & Juniors nowadays compared to what have been the case a decade earlier. The fresher students have their own aspirations & circles leading to a lesser influence of the senior“vultures” of their respective regions on their voting behaviour. The other positive development was the showing of more political maturity by the Aligs this time when a candidate was alleged to be sponsored by the “Communists” - a term to denote the most devilish section of the AMU by some. I personally felt pretty glad to be told by many of my friends that this was a dirty conspiracy of the opponents to discredit the candidate. Earlier, this labeling was a very easy way to delegitimize anyone & the voters were very easily swayed by this propaganda. This incident shows that most of us have learnt from our earlier mistakes & will not be deceived so easily by mere allegations.

                Being a student of engineering, I am a close witness to the generally apathetic attitude of the majority of my  college-mates regarding student politics & AMUSU elections. It is unfortunate that the students of Engineering faculty which comprises of approximately one-fourth of the total registered voters don’t take much interests in politics. Most of the engineers cast their votes without much thought either on the request of their known ones or on some other petty criteria like region, department, personal relations, etc. But, it came as a pleasant surprise that on the polling day of this elections many of my college-mates were casting votes, especially for the post of President & Vice-President for a candidate they considered to be “deserving” based upon the candidates’ past activities & achievements.

                At last, I want to say that I personally see some promising developments in the usually dirty politics of Students’ Union elections which gives me hope to actively engage ourselves in materializing on these positives to restore AMUSU’s past glory. Efforts are also required to be directed to aware our fellow students regarding the importance of students’ politics & offering opposition to counter check the corrupt-practices of student leaders once they come in power. Let’s see if we can make some constructive contributions to our beloved  institution.

The Memorandum Presented to the Honourable VC sahab

To,

The Vice Chancellor,

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

Sub: To respectfully draw your attention towards certain issues of democratic space and student activism in the campus

Sir,

WE THE Student Organisations working among students within the campus AT AMU, would like to jointly call your attention towards certain issues of campus democracy and student activism that affect all of us in the University.

These issues are:

1. Putting up posters and pamphlets in the University is prohibited unless prior permission has been granted from the Proctor’s office. WE FEEL THIS STEP HAMPERS THE FREE FLOW OF IDEAS BETWEEN STUDTENTS which is an essential part of campus life. Posters and pamphlets are essential VECTORS FOR DISSEMATION OF THOUGHTS AND MASS OUTREACH. While we do understand the need for regulation, the fact is that the need for prior permission deters many students from giving fruition to their ideas.AGAINST THE COMPULSORY prior permission, we propose that STUDENTS BE ALLOWED TO PUT UP THEIR POSTERS WITHOUT RESTRICTION AND SUBSEQUENTLY IF ANYTHING IS FOUND OBJECTIONABLE OR AGAINST PUBLIC INTEREST, IMMEDIATE AND APPROPRIATE ACTION BE TAKEN ACCORDINGLY. THIS IS WHAT IS BEING FOLLOWED AT OTHER CAMPUSES OF ESTEEMED INDIAN UNIVERSITIES AS WELL.

And as far as the issue of defacing of the University walls is concerned, WE STRONGLY OPPOSE IT AND REQUEST THAT the administration should designate certain spots, or put up notice boards, in front of the different faculties and important landmarks of the University where everybody may have the freedom to post their ideas. Any posters or pamphlets anywhere other than at the designated spots must then be prohibited. This would also make the work of regulation easier as the material to be checked would be concentrated at some known places.

2. THE SECOND ISSUE IS RELATED TO PROVIDING SPACE FOR ORGANISING VARIOUS EVENTS, DISCUSSIONS AND OTHERS AT VARIOUS HALLS, ETC AT AMU. AMU being one of the most intellectually sound campus in India has a highly vibrant student community that seeks to exercise its creative faculties by organizing debates, discussions, exhibitions and the like among themselves. This requires the use of spaces like halls, conference rooms, etc, WHICH AMU HAS AVAILABLE IN LARGE NUMBERS, but students in general are not easily allowed TO USE THEM. This becomes a real hindrance in the proper development of a student’s creative energy, and we request that the spaces within our campus be made easily available to all bona fide students of the University. The cost of using these spaces should be removed, with the provision that the student shall be liable for any damage caused during his/her use.

3. THE THIRD ISSUE WE WOULD LIKE TO RAISE IS REGARDING The Students’ Union elections AT AMU, which are unfortunately dominated by money and muscle power, and this has destroyed the very essence of student politics. We request YOUR GOOD SELF TO STRICTLY enforce the election code of conduct in its full spirit, as we are in full support of clean elections.

There are, apart from these, many other issues of great concern in the University. But these are, in our humble opinion, some of the most pressing in terms of student’s voice and the democratic ethos of this institution. We hope that you will take note of our concerns and give them your due attention.

Thank You,


Yours Sincerely,
From:
Students’ Islamic Organisation of India(SIO)
Students of AMU
Muslim Students’ Organisation(MSO)
Aligarh Activists’ Society(AAS)
AMU Discussion Forum(ADF)

An Appeal to all stakeholders of AMU

This is with regard to the latest decision from the honourable Vice Chancellor of AMU to separate the Women’s College Union from the main students’ Union. AMU being a campus which provides freedom of opinion to everyone, a variety of opinions may exist in the campus regarding the relative merits and demerits of the decision. Everybody has the right to agree or disagree with it and freely express their point of view IN A MODEST WAY.

However some people at the campus relate this division of Unions to religion, which in no way has been a party to the decision. These people unnecessarily bring Religion into a matter that is purely administrative in nature.  They try to create a religion based debate and start maligning the people with other opinion on an issue which in no way has any religious foundation.

In this regard we request one and all to understand the nature of this decision and stop giving heed to any such defective opinion that drags religion into this issue.  Let there be no baseless arguments and any wastage of time, and that would be for the greater good of the campus. This is an administrative issue and needs to be dealt with in that way.

We request everyone in the campus to respect the opinion of every other person, regardless of it being contrary to your own opinion. We request everyone to desist from labeling others with abusive tags and join hands to create a healthy environment for free and modest discussions at the campus.

Students’ Islamic Organisation of India(SIO)
Students of AMU
Muslim Students’Organisation(MSO)                              
Aligarh Activists’ Society(AAS)
AMU Discussion Forum(ADF)