Aligarh, UP, India: Hundreds of students of Aligarh Muslim University today took out a march against a program planned by Hindutva bodies, including RSS, ABVP and BJP. They described the proposed function as an attempt by BJP leaders to “polarise” society and claimed that Raja Mahendra Pratap’s name was being misused to “encroach” upon the autonomy of the central university.
The BJP leaders have planned to celebrate the birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap, one of the land donors to the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus, in front of the main gate of the campus on December 1.
Addressing the rally, the president of the AMU Student’s Union, Abdullah Azzam, said, “We fully acknowledge and fondly remember the contributions of Raja Mahendra Pratap to this University. However, the BJP is just misusing Raja Mahendra Pratap’s legacy as an excuse for targeting this University and is hardly bothered about the truth behind this issue”.
File Photos used for representational purpose only
Abdullah Azzam said, “the country is presently facing a crisis because of the BJP government’s attempts to polarise society by saffronising the entire educational system. Raja Mahendra Pratap was a man who preached love all his life but it is a tragedy that his name is being misused to encroach upon the autonomy of this central university.”
Vice Chancellor of the University, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah, has written to India’s Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, warning of a potential “communal conflagration” and massive “student unrest” in the campus over the plans.
In his letter, Zameer Uddin Shah, who served as Deputy Chief of Army Staff, said if “certain elements” go ahead with their plans to hold a demonstration at AMU on December 1, “it could lead to massive student unrest at the campus”.