Beyond Rafi Relief:Moral Ambiguities of AMU

Big educational and cultural institutions, sports organizations, etc. are increasingly earning disrepute for mis-utilising/ (diverting illegally) funds. In fact, there seems to be a competitive spirit in this kind of degeneration. The allegations are most often against the best of scholars, and most suave of the politicians. P. Vijayan, Shahshi Tharoor, NMML Director (See, The Hindu, 24 May 2010), quite a few Vice Chancellors, and God knows who else.
O. Ravi (IAS), Lalit Modi and other such names are not as much outrageous, because of their "low" stature.
Dr Mohsin Raza sb, Mr Adil or few more people like them may (or may not) come out with embarrassing truths. That won't be surprising. Still some highly accomplished alumni (self-righteous ones, some of them based in overseas) will display most disgusting kind of flattery. Even if Dr Mohsin Raza sb or Mr Adil come to know of irregularities and succeed in obtaining evidences to that effect, what difference will it make? How many self-righteous, overseas alumni have shown their outrage against Principal Accountant General's Report (November 2009) on huge financial irregularities in AMU? How many of them have spoken forthrightly against Justice Mathew Report? There is a long history of corruption in AMU. One of the reasons for saddening and depressing last days of Sir Syed was corruption in MAO College. Many more evidences collected in various inquiry reports like Sheikh Abdullah Report(1926), Ibrahim Rahimatoola Report (1927), G.C. Chatterji Report (1961),...further testify it.
So much of Tehzeeb and Tamaddun of Aligarh.
Reports of corruption in higher judiciary are no secret. Arundhati Roy's essay, "Scandal in the Palace" is only one such brave "report". Dinakaran and many more are already increasingly becoming sources of embarrassment for the Indian judiciary.
We are living in an age of moral ambiguities. The distinction between heroes and villains, honest and dishonest, moral and immoral are increasingly getting blurred. Popular Bollywood Hindi movies are best articulations/ representations of such ambiguities.
The whistle blowers are the most hated elements among the sections of Aligs. They would ask you to leave the sacred/ holy place like AMU, as according to them, it is above criticism; it is a question of faith (Aqeeda/ Aastha- Much like the Sangh Pariwar’s argument that the Ramjanma Bhoomi is a matter of their aastha hence Supreme Court, Parliament, Constitution, scientific history, all are irrelevant and redundant). They wantonly refuse to realize that those who make such exposes are the greater friends/ well-wishers of AMU, as they are mobilizing opinion for the systemic corrective.
Shahryar’s poem, “Muslim University ki Fariyaad” is worth recalling:

MujaawiroN ki bheerh ney
Mujhey phir ek qabr mein badal diya
MaiN kah raha hooN der sey
MaiN zinda hooN
Meri sada mein baaz gasht kyoN nahiN
Merey Khuda
Mujhey sazaaeiN jitni dey
Pe yooN nahiN


Beware of these “Mujaawirs”.
There are many, ever increasing, and they are the moral custodians of the institution.
Should not we scratch the various layers of meanings embedded in this brilliant metaphor, “Mujaawir”?

I hope, "amunetwork" won't censor it.

Regards,
Dr Mohammad Sajjad
Lecturer
Centre of Advanced Study in History
Aligarh Muslim University (India)
fdr_amu@yahoogroups.com