Mulayam Singh Go Back !!!

AMU Students Blackened the Face of MSY's Banner in AMU

Mission accomplished!

Intense protests by AMU students leads to cancellation of Mulayam Singh Yadav's visit at AMU. We've clearly reiterated our stand that we shall not allow anyone to market AMU to further their political interests.

Long live Students' Activism! 

Down with Politics of Opportunism!

Down with Politics of Hate!

- Message from Riad Azam, Founding Member AAS

Press Release by AMU students for Justice on Law Faculty Issue

As of today, the credible image of university has been distorted by the sexual harassment case reported from a prestigious faculty at AMU against a now suspended, senior professor of the university creating a bad name of the campus. 

We, the students at AMU find it our primary responsibility to stand for honour and dignity of the institution and all that is associated with our alma mater. In this regard we voice our concerns through this protest march. 

In the light of above mentioned, we voice our concerns regarding this issue for the following reasons. 

1. No one, may it be a student or a teacher has a right to tarnish the image of the university. So we demand fast track action in law faculty sexual harassment case and whosoever is found guilty through a free and fair enquiry must be severely punished to send clear message that AMU cannot be taken hostage by the any sick elements. Action must be made public so that entire nation comes to know that AMU does not give a free hand to people with criminal attitude. We demand everyone to follow the due course of law and standards of Justice at AMU. 

2. Gender violence against anybody, student or faculty, guest or bonafide, cannot be accepted as a norm and ignored, and the victim cannot be left alone to fight for justice. Social pressures or like cannot be accepted as hindrances in justice delivery system. We demand an end to any sort of gender violence to maintain the sanctity of the institution. Administration must make fast track arrangement to check those people who are inclined to gender violence or have any such record in the past. 

3. The safety of our sisters is our primary concern and there cannot be any concession on that. So the official body of AMU working for the purpose (CASHFGS) cannot stay senescent and irresponsive. Its mere existence does not solve the purpose. We demand for an updated, empowered, functional body of CASHFGS (Committee against sexual harassment and for gender sensitization) with mass awakening programs and easy executive tendencies. It must be funded properly, made accountable and ensured a root level contact with female students at AMU. 

4. The cultural legacy of AMU, as visioned by the founder of alma mater, needs to be maintained at any cost. Those events, discourses and shows that are organised in the campus and do not reflect our civilization and the historical background of the university cannot be allowed to demolish the prestige the heartland of Muslims in India. This event cannot be taken in isolation because such miss happening are a result of continuous moral degradation; promotion of indecent ideas, nurturing of western culture and transgression of the limits set by Islam. We demand a policy shift to uphold modesty and demand an end to all that deprives us from our great values. We don’t think of this particular case in isolation but take these types of heinous events as a result of continuous moral degradation; promotion of indecent ideas, nurturing of western culture and transgression of the limits set by Islam. 

5. We demand media to be ethical in reporting and not to present AMU like other infamous institutions where sexual harassment is a routine. We convey media to present AMU as it is, and not to create an awkward image of AMU, as we believe that against some odds, AMU is yet the safest campus in the nation. We request media to support our cause till the justice is delivered. We also request media to cover our protest march from jama masjid to bab e syed to give voice to students at AMU. 

THANK YOU 

AMU STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE (an amalgam of various students organisation at AMU) supported by Jammu Kashmir Alig Association.

AAS member Fawaz Shaheen along with others met Minority Affairs Minister for passing communal violence bill

After a massive campaign at AMU, with collection of 20,000 signatures from AMU and a students march from jama Masjid to bab e syed, against riot politics and in favour of Anti Communal Violence Bill, AMU students for justice, met K Rahman Khan, Union minister for Minority affairs at New Delhi on Thursday, 12th December 2013, to press for the Communal Violence Bill to be passed in parliament and to raise concerns regarding the rising levels of communal violence in India. The delegation included Fawaad Shaheen, Abdullah Azzam, Manazir Bari, Mubashir Ahmad, Farhan Shamsi and Muzir, all bonafide students at AMU. 

The delegation made it clear to the said ministry that the AMU fraternity is seriously concerned about the chain of communal riots being perpetrated across the nation by some by divisive elements and the loss of human lives and properties of our countrymen. We feel the need of comprehensive legislation’ that would strengthen the hands of the citizens to secure justice, hereby referring to Anti Communal violence Bill and if UPA does not fulfil the promise then minorities will follow their course of action accordingly. 

Students shared the grievous concern over riot politics, and handed over the 20,000 signatures of Alig Fraternity with memorandum to Union minister for Minority affairs, demanding fore mostly the passage of Anti Communal violence Bill in the ongoing session of Parliament. 

Minority Affairs Minster welcomed the delegation and heard patiently and assured that the efforts shall continue to pass the bill. He said the Govt. was keen to make this happen in December itself but the opposition challenges can not be overlooked. Delegation awakened the Govt. of the massive public anger if the Govt. failed to address the concerns of Minorities and respect for the promises made during the last elections. AMU students for Justice, is in touch with UPA Chair Person Ms. Sonia Gandhi on this issue and hope our concerns are addressed and thus maintaining the spirit of democratic culture in India.

Ameen Ahmad's speech On Gandhi Jayanti

Fawaz Shaheen On Times Now !

FAWAZ SHAHEEN SCRIPTS HISTORY !!

It is a matter of great pride and ecstasy for the entire Alig Community, that one of our brothers shall be representing our alma mater in National Television. Fawaz Shaheen, a student of B. A. LL. B (Fourth Year) has been selected to speak in a National Youth Parliament event, organized by Times Now and Times of India. The event known as “I Lead India” is an initiative which intends to engage the youth of the nation in the democratic process and seeks to provide them a platform to ask questions to the political class and demand their accountability in their process of Policy framing. 

The event had a tough selection process wherein 45 students from all across India were short listed on the basis of a 3 minute video presentation concerning India’s Political Class, Indian Economy and Foreign Policies. From these top 45 participants, 12 were finalized based upon a mock Parliament which was held in New Delhi. Fawaz Shaheen will be speaking against the motion "The Political Class of India has failed to meet the aspirations of India's youth".

The mega event will be recorded on the 3rd of October and shall be broadcast by Times Now and covered by The Times of India on 12th & 13rd October. It will feature these 12 participants facing off with prominent politicians and social activists which include Manish Tiwari (Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting), Sachin Pilot (Minister of State for Corporate Affairs), Mr. Yogendra Yadav (Social Scientist), Kiran Bedi (Social Activist & Retired IPS officer), Mrs. Kiran Majumdar Shaw (Corporate Honcho) and Mr. Brahma Chellaney (Public Intellectual & Strategic Thinker).

We implore upon all the Aligs to support our brother by generating more information regarding the event, and be a part of this hour of glory by watching the programme at Times Now.

The 2-hour recorded debate will be telecasted on TIMES NOW on three occasions.
1. On 12th of October (Saturday) from 2pm to 4pm
2. On 13th of October (Sunday) from 11am to 1pm

3. On 13th of October (Sunday) from 7pm to 9pm.


For further details contact us at:-

9045497625, 9045205890

You can also mail us at:- aasaligarh@gmail.com

Or you can also visit the website of the event:- 

http://youthparliament.ileadindia.com/index.php

Commitment of AAS on CASHFGS

In its commitment to strive for gender justice, the Aligarh Activists’ Society (AAS) would actively engage itself for the cause of gender sensitization, especially among the female students of the campus, through a number of ways mainly, distribution of pamphlets, organizing discussions, enacting street plays and a number of other means as may be necessary in the University campus. We are dedicated in ensuring a harassment free and gender sensitive AMU. It has also been decided that the AAS would extend all possible co- operation and support to the newly formed Committee Against Sexual Harassment and Gender Sensitization (CASHFGS). In this regard our main objectives are:-

• Spreading awareness about the bylaws of the CASHFGS among the students of the University. 
• Sensitizing the students about the legal procedures that are to be followed in case of occurrence of an incident of sexual harassment. 
• Making the female students aware of their rights as enshrined by the statutes of the CASHFGS.
• Ensuring that both emotional as well as legal support is provided to a victim of sexual harassment. 

In this regard, we would like to appeal to the AMU fraternity at large to join hands in eradicating the menace of eve- teasing and crimes against women in our beloved University and make efforts to ensure that the campus is conducive to the idea of mutual respect and sensitiveness towards gender-related issues.

Justice Hanged : A take on Afzal Guru's execution

On 9th February 2013, at about 8 o’ clock in the morning in Delhi’s Tihar jail complex, India’s Criminal Justice system was hanged and buried.

Afzal Guru’s case is the typical example of how mighty concepts like ‘justice’ and the ‘rule of the law’ do not apply in cases where powerful interests find them inconvenient. While being tried for conspiracy against the state – one of the most serious crimes in any country – Afzal Guru had no real legal representation, the State had no witnesses that could directly implicate him in the crime and all evidence against him was purely circumstantial and based on flimsy grounds. The limit of irregularities was such that there were two different versions presented by the State even regarding his arrest, but none of these were questioned in court.

On these grounds, no court in a civilised nation could have held him guilty, let alone sentence him to death. Even the Supreme Court, while confirming his death sentence, remarked that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him, but “collective conscience” demands that he be hanged.

It was truly disheartening to see the guardian of our constitution give to demands of the mob and ignore the law. What was even more sickening was the fact that his death was met with jubilation and followed by celebration in large parts of the country.

Don’t get us wrong. We are not inciting anyone against the State, we do not want to be anti-India. But what are we supposed to understand from all this? That anyone can be hanged to cover up for the State’s incompetence? That the law is going to be guided by cheap politics? That anyone from us could be made the next Afzal Guru?

The only one who terrorizes us today is the State, not some fictitious “Terrorist” outfit. We can be arrested anytime, detained for any period of time, and convicted of any crime at the whim and mercy of the State. To many who are thus oppressed by the state, be it a suspected “Jihadi” or an alleged “Naxalite”, the real National Security Threat is the State.

We know this is an emotional outburst, but we are feeling emotional. We are hurt and angry and distressed and afraid for we are oppressed by the very forces which are made to protect us.

We remain citizens of this country, we shall continue to call on the institutions made to protect us, we shall continue to struggle with all the just means and tools, but in times like this se are forced to ask: Is it worth it?

- By Fawaz Shaheen (B.A.LLB)

Of Elections without Ideas— Neo-Liberalism and the Culture of Apathy

             Students’ Politics is conceived as an art of channelizing the energy of the youth and preparing them for the task of nation-building. It also seeks to sensitise them on the pertinent socio-political issues of the times. However, over the past few decades students’ politics has become synonymous with flagrant exercise of money and muscle power, nepotism and debauchery. In short, an ethical vacuum has resulted in the derailing of students’ politics from its purpose.

           Many fail to perceive the root of the problem - a lack ideas and a clear-eyed vision among the youth of this country. A case in point is the recently concluded Students’ Union elections of the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union.  As of now whatever ideas you would seek among the AMUSU elections candidates the following were the ones you would get (tick the box):-

a) Please vote, support and dua                                          

b)  Tempo high hai

c)   Jeetega bhai jeetega.

          Over the past few years, this terrible drought of ideas have turned a coveted Institution like the AMU Students’ Union into a licence for running riot into the day to day activities of the campus. A pool of students’ leaders have come onto the centre stage who are oblivious of the contemporary challenges being faced by the largest minority community of this country (ironically whose interests they claim to    represent). This has led to an incessant shrinkage of AMU’s role in the task of nation-building and turned it into a thing of the yester years.  In their desperation in showing themselves to be concerned about the common students whose corollary is being antagonistic to the University administration, they have repetitively maligned the Vice- Chancellor of the University ( at times in language that crossed the levels of decency) pressed for illegal demands, and stretched out of the jurisdiction of the Students’ Union. The consequence of all the above acts has been vitiating of the peaceful atmosphere of the campus, and a pretext for the University administration to state that Students’ Union Elections leads to problems of law and order and thereby suspension of the Students ‘Union and denial of the democratic rights of the students.

         However, it would be unfair to presume that the above mentioned problems are exclusively those of the Aligarh Muslim University. A cursory look into the students’ politics of the entire country would reveal that most of the campuses (even those which are known for its academic excellence) today suffer from a leadership vacuum. The neo-liberal policies that have been ushered in this country over the past two decades have resulted in the constant need of a workforce that would feed onto the market. Thus, the Universities have turned into degree vending factories manufacturing ready-made graduates. In such a scenario it is obvious that the political status quo would be antagonistic to the idea of campus democracy and students’ mobilisation as they have repeatedly proved to be threats to the ruling class in the past. Thus, what goes on is a farce in most of the campuses in the name of students’ politics. The thinking youth is tactfully kept out of the entire political process through the middle class squeamishness “politics is bad”. What is currently going on at the Aligarh Muslim University is actually a microcosm of the situation in the entire country.

         The panacea to the above problems lays in active participation of the students in the political process. They have to rise above this culture of apathy in order to secure a better future for themselves. Coming back to AMU, it is essential that we reclaim our politics from the clutches of lobbyism that has eroded the essence of our Students’ Union. There is a need for more political sensitisation among the common students. The onus lies on each and every student who is a stake holder of the prestige of this great seat of learning. The task is difficult, but not an impossible one. With our joint and sustained efforts we can surely salvage our fading glory.

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.

A Response to Students’ Union Elections, 2012-13

 Students of Political Science who are usually branded as “pessimists” will definitely agree with me if I say that politics exists because here the people always disagree. But, before jumping to conclusion that politics is all about disagreement, let me make it clear that politics also makes two strangers bed-partners. Hence, conflict and its resolution are the guiding principles of any political activity.

In the recent Students’ Union Election, I got a chance to observe how people are befooled by the leaders through electrifying slogans and false promises. In the beginning, I like many others, fell prey to political apathy and decided to remain at arm’s length from the election but the element of political pessimism which is present in the DNA of every Political Science student finally pushed or compelled me to open my tight lips. It is rightly said that “you may not be interested in politics but politics is interested in you.”

This time, the Union election was of course very unique and more political in nature because various political developments (Institutional and psychological level) took place. Here, elections are usually contested on the basis of regional lobbies Any leader having a strong base from any regional lobby is sure to win the elections. Lobbyism is very deeply rooted in the minds of AMU students, maybe because it is considered as the only tool of mobilising students. But, contrary to the previous election, some leaders have made personal appeals to the voters and hence have boosted the phenomenal of “spatial leadership”. However, it does not mean that lobbyism has been totally uprooted. Besides this the trend of black and grey propaganda against some leaders was also visible, but it seems very strange to me that destructive criticism against some leaders proved to be counter-productive. Some leaders were branded as ‘communists’ as it is the easiest way of maligning anyone in the campus. But, I am quite sure that those who earned a master’s degree in this activity do not even know the ‘c’ of Communism. When negative campaigning was at the peak, majority of the voters, in a display of political maturity, expressed their apathy against false propaganda and protested against it by casting votes in favour of the artificially tainted candidate.

Another sign of political maturity was the strong vow taken by students to cast their votes not in favour of those candidates who during campaigning showed their non-seriousness. Moreover, some candidates have focussed mainly on presentational factors such as personal appearance, hairstyles, dressing sense and so on. Sometimes these become more important in determining the political mandate.

One of the drastic changes was the fragmentation of each regional lobby into at least two fragments. For some, it is a positive sign. Yes, of course, it is .But looking deep into it, I think, in previous elections one lobby remained completely focused on one candidate and if that candidate lost the election it was perceived as a loss of the entire lobby. But now each lobby put its force behind one candidate or the other. So winning or losing of any candidate ultimately proved beneficial to one lobby or the other. In a technical sense, the elections remained a zero-sum game for any lobby now.

I observed that some candidates were “politically honest” and this time, the victory kissed the feet of only those candidates who mastered not in politics but in “politricks”.

In short, it all reminds me the theory of Statecraft of Machiavelli. I wonder that how some people could be in born Machiavellian. Any sensible person cannot turn deaf ears to the new stimulus and responses. Anyone who keeps his eyes protectively dim to these new developments really deserve the title of “idiot”, which was used for the politically insensitive people in Ancient Greece. 

- Imran Ahmad Kichloo, M.A. Political Science

Tehzeeb v/s Progress: An Analysis of the Great Divide over Abdullah Hall

                       Abdullah Hall. Women’s College. A mere reference to these words is enough to set alight any dhaba discussion or hostel gup-shup in our University and immediately polarise the participants. Anyone taking a supposedly “pro-women” stance is immediately labelled anti-Islamic, ‘communist’, 'deheria' and the like. Anyone taking a “pro-tehzeeb” stand is immediately labelled anti-women, ‘conservative’, daqiya-nusi and their ilk.

             The only agreement that seems to exist is over the fact that there is some problem in the Women’s College, requiring some sort of a solution. The disagreement exists over everything else, be it the problems or the solutions to those contested problems.

Aligarh Activists' Society : Pictures of the Programme Held at Department of Islamic Studies

Here are the snapshots of the seminar organised by Aligarh Activists' Society on "Concept of Human Rights in Islam" held on 27th September, 2012 at Conference Hall, Department of Islamic Studies, A.M.U.

Report of the Programme organised by AAS at Department of Islamic Studies

             The Aligarh Activists’ Society organised a Student’s Seminar on the topic “Concept of Human Rights in Islam”. A paper introducing the crux of the topic was presented by Zuhair, which was then followed by an intense discussion among the students present.

            The paper presented by Zuhair began with a preview to the approach of Human Rights, pointing out how Islam considers the rights of Humans in relation to one another and to society as having been ordained by Allah, the Creator and Almighty Himself. These rights are, therefore, inviolable and not subject to human discretion. It then went on to discuss some of the basic rights, such as Right to Life, Right to Safety of Life, Right to protect the Chastity of Women, Right to a Basic Standard of Life, etc.
After the presentation of this paper, the floor was thrown open and students actively came forward to present their views and counter-opinions.

Student Groups in A.M.U.

        There are many student groups in AMU which are doing their level best to bring about the revival in the status of this prestigious university, its cultural heritage, its intellectual heritage and various other glorious aspects of our beloved institution. But unfortunately, when I Googled "Student groups in AMU" I saw more links related to the clashes between different lobbies in our university. It is as if the only thing relevant with a query of student groups  are the "katta goons" out here and that make outsiders perceive that here is a dearth of student groups related to constructive activism. 

           I wrote this piece of information just to attempt to erase the blots the google search is putting on us. By clicking on this article & by recommending it further, you as a reader will be helping to get this article at the top of google search. 

You can further assist by performing these two steps.

1. Open www.google.com & type "Student Groups in AMU".

2. Out of the resulting queries only click on the link of this page which will be titled as "Aligarh Activists' Society : The "Official" Blog: Student Groups in AMU".

         While I am busy in cyber activism, I personally feel that we, as students of AMU, haven't used the full potential of Internet in conveying our voices to the world. A lot of work can be done on this front.

       In near future, I plan (if Almighty wills) to form a Cyber group of Aligarh Muslim University to promote a better image of A.M.U. and to eradicate the defaming links put up on the internet. Your views & comments are welcomed.

         I am also thinking of expanding this article and write about the different student groups like SIO, Eco-club, Helping Hands etc which are active in AMU. 

---->> As of Now this POST is ranked on 4th number (because of  many people who helped me out) with search query typed as "Student groups in AMU".

----->> I have created a page on the website of Aligarh Activists' Society on this topic, as a page is much more search engine friendly than a blog post. Click here to visit that page.

- By Ameen Ahmad

Email ID : ameenalig@gmail.com

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)

Sixty six years of India’s Independence: An Introspective Analysis

Before I begin this article it is essential that I make a few clarifications, as the nature of socio-political discourse makes it necessary.

Firstly, I am not an anti-Indian. Rather, as a concerned citizen of this nation, I consider it my moral responsibility to point out to the structural flaws and inequalities within our system, that has repeatedly corroded the prospects of the development of this country. Following the Anna Hazare thing, we have a radical and aggressive brand of nationalism that states either you profess Anna like views or you are an anti-Indian. (Much like George Bush’s Iraq war rhetoric, which stated: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.)

Secondly, I am not a Communist. In fact, I am an anti-Communist to be precise. I believe Communists don’t have a copyright of protesting against capitalism and neo-corporate globalization. Just like being anti-Anna doesn’t make you anti-Indian, being anti-Bush doesn’t mean you are with the terrorists, similarly, being anti-capitalist doesn’t make you a pro-Communist.

Talking about pointing to the structural flaws within our system, I could not think of a better day than 15th of August, the day of our independence, to do the job. Quite purposefully i wont enter into the debate whether we attained this independence, or was it a false one, given to us by our British masters at the cost  of a bloody partition of this country, which Arundhati Roy calls Britain’s final, parting kick to India. I find this debate useless and sinister. We cannot undo a decision taken sixty-five years ago by our forefathers. Its better we address the issues that confront us today. (I know its an un intellectual argument but its a practical one.)

So, on the 66th year of our Independence as the social networking sites get flooded with patriotic updates, as the tv channels throughout the day televise films and songs that boost up our nationalistic sensations( temporarily although), and as our soft-spoken, suave Prime Minister belts out his neatly drafted Independence Day speech at the Red Fort, let us have a close look at the ground realities of 21st century India.

A huge battallion of paramilitary forces armed with the most sophisticated ammunition, is closing in towards the forests of Central India, the heartland of this country. They are readying for a bloody war against an army which comprises of the poorest,(most of them haven’t seen a modern city, never travelled in a train or a bus) undernutritioned, malnourished people, the tribals and the adivasis of India. They have realised that their Government is too thick skinned to pay any heed to their non-violent protests against the forceful acquisition of their land and its natural resources, for the purpose of setting up Special Economic Zones. In despair they have joined the ultra-Left Maoist radicals who seek the overthrow of the Indian state through an armed revolution. The country is probably heading towards a civil war, or probably the war has already begun. Its a rich man’s war where the poorest of the poor fight and they die.

While the gala of the Independence Day celebration persists, we have a lady at the distant North-Eastern state of Manipur, stretching a world record few Indians bother to care about, and none feel proud about. Irom Sharmila, a Manipuri civil-rights activist and poet is on a hunger strike since 2 November, 2000, which makes her the person on the longest hunger strike in the history of the world. Her demand is the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA). AFSPA, a draconian law that is in operation in the seven North-Eastern states of India, and Jammu and Kashmir, entitles army personnel(except those of the lowest two ranks) to arrest without a warrant, shoot and even kill an individual, or a group of individuals, on the mere suspicion of being a terrorist. The act provides impunity to the army men from any prosecution or trial for their aforementioned acts. Under the garb of doctrine of necessity the AFSPA is essentially a license to kill.

Before I forget to tell you all, my friends and seniors hailing from Kashmir, like every year have told me that today, on the 15th of August, Kashmir has an unanimous strike and a blackout. 14th August, i.e. the Independence Day of Pakistan was celebrated with much pomp and show. The incident is a slap on the very ideals of equality and integrity that the Constitution of this country seeks to uphold. It shows how our successive Governments have badly messed up with an issue that required patience and a humane approach.

Politics in India seems to get murkier day by day. Today, we have a new brand of hate-mongering, incarnate politicians whipping up divisions along religious, casteist, and sectarian lines, thereby ensuring a polarized mandate, that facilitates and smoothens their road to power. Politics of hatred probably was never so much in the vogue in India, as it has been during the past few decades. I would refrain from citing examples of incidents of politics of hatred that have unleashed unimaginable proportions of atrocities, because they chill my spine.

As if this unending list of corrupt, hate mongering politicians who siphon out huge amount of money from the public exchequer and stash it up in their Swiss bank accounts, was not enough, we presently have an increasing number of CEOs and corporates hollowing out natural resources worth trillions of dollars from the forests and mountains of India. All this courtesy the two decades of liberalization and privatization in India, and also the large number of Memorandum of Understandings(which are secret documents and their terms and conditions have been concealed from the common people) signed between state Governments and these multinational corporations.

Unfortunately, the tragedy of this country does not end here. The youth of this nation, comprising the lion’ share of its population is a directionless mass, away from the realities of the day. Following the massive privatization of education, students have been turned into prospective buyers of University degrees. The policy in practice is: Throw your bucks and grab your degrees. Education, in India, today, is the most lucrative business. Thus, toeing the lines of its capitalist vanguards, the youth of today wears a ‘cool’ attitude, proudly declaring that it doesn’t care about politics, hardly realising that this depoliticisation is the biggest political happening of this decade.) It is enmeshed in the status-quo, oblivious to any sort of acts of resistance in unison against this capitalist exploitation.

The need of the hour is the development of awareness among the common mass. The youth of the country cannot afford to remain aloof from those very issues that affect us so seriously. It has to come forward and take up the cudgels of nation building. It has to think and prepare the roadmap of our future. Everyone has stakes in the future of this nation, come, let us realise it together.

P.S:- I did not attend the Independence Day function in my University. I find these symbolic events useless, they frustrate me. Present time demands persevering hard work rather than indulging in an hour’s show of flag hoisting and worthless rhetoric.

- By Riad Azam 

Why the Aligarh Activists' Society is formed?

Taking a leaf from the glorious traditions of student activism at the Aligarh Muslim University campus, the Aligarh Activists’ Society was incepted in August 2011 with an aim of providing active students’ participation and sensitizing them on the pertinent socio-political issues of our times.  During the past few decades, the educational institutes of our country have witnessed radical changes. Students’ politics, hitherto seen as a tool for realising students’ rights and preparing them for taking up the onus of nation-building in future, today has become synonymous with flagrant exercise of money and muscle power, nepotism and debauchery.

The AMU has had its own set of issues and problems. Issues like regionalism, naked exercise of money and muscle power among a plethora of others, have time and again plagued the healthy development of students’ politics and activism in this campus. Politics deprived of ideas and ideals have repeatedly lead to violent clashes amongst the students thereby jeopardising the prospects of growth and development of our University. Following the nightmarish events of student violence in 2007 which lead to the sine-die closure of the University, an urgency was felt among the AMU student fraternity for bringing about a change in the state of affairs.

The biggest change that we need to see in our campus is the development of a platform which would be a congenial medium for vibrant discourses on the socio-political issues that affect us. The lack of discourse over the years has lead to an intellectual stagnation which, we believe, is the root cause of all the problems that plague the Aligarh Muslim University today. We organise seminars, conferences, panel discussions, and workshops to develop awareness, and shape our opinion about the contemporary happenings. In future, we also seek to promote our ideas and ideals through more innovative mediums such as street plays, cartoons, wall magazines, etc.

We appeal to all the stakeholders of our University in joining us in building a better AMU which can realise the dreams and aspirations of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, an apostle of pluralism and educational empowerment. The writing on the wall is quite clear, “We can, We will”. Come, let us realise it together.