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EDUCATION:
ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY
A
Newfound Credibility
Although
diverse Muslim organisations have existed in AMU for many years it is
their new-found credibility which is alarming. Does this religious upsurge
worry the university staff? Apparently not. Says Humayun Murad, president
of the staff council: "Yes, there are these groups but they are being
projected negatively. The minority community in India, not just AMU, is
unsafe today and the upsurge in the Islamic movement is only to be expected."
Taqir Anwar, a member of the Students' Struggle Committee, echoes such
fears. "The Muslims do not trust the institutions of India, whether
it is the police or the administration. The manner in which Mubeen was
picked up and whisked away from the campus proves that the level of trust
is zero. We need to get our grievances addressed somewhere and these political
formations are the only way out," he says.
Almost no
one on the campus believes that Mubeen was an ISI-sponsored terrorist.
Police claims that he has confessed to receiving training in explosives
are dismissed contemptuously. Mubeen, his associates say, was a firebrand
speaker with simple habits and several friends; no more, no less. Says
Atif Rafiq, MBA student and Mubeen's friend: "As far as I can remember
all Mubeen did was pray, eat and study." Says a student of Habib
Hall, where Mubeen resided: "If he is guilty it will come out in
court but I am now convinced that the right to free speech enshrined in
the Indian Constitution is not applicable to AMU."
The local
administration's version is different and it points to the steady recovery
of weapons from the campus. Says Brij Bhushan, SSP, Aligarh, "The
arrest of Mubeen is part of a pattern. On July 23 we recovered a small
arsenal from R.M. Hall, one of the halls of residence. This was not a
couple of small arms -it was a whole cache which included a .22 bore rifle,
a .12 bore rifle, 13 cartridges, three .315 bore country-made pistols
and one .32 bore pistol." Even after Mubeen's arrest, the violence
continued. On September 12, a teacher, Sajid Ali, was shot at on the campus.
When confronted
with uncomfortable facts, students blame "outsiders". Vice-Chancellor
Ansari admits that "around 200-250 outsiders are on campus and we
are seeking to identify and expel them". The other outsiders getting
involved are, of course, the politicians. AMU has become just another
battleground for Uttar Pradesh' viciously fractured polity. The state
BJP president has demanded a ban on SIMI, and both the Congress and the
SJP have sent representatives to the campus. The classrooms of AMU are
not going to rest easy in a hurry.
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