Muslim Face of UPA Rejected by Aligarh Muslim University Community

UPA Muslim-face Rejected by A.M.U.

Mr. Salman Khurshid, the only Muslim Cabinet Minister, many Muslims so believe. They also believe that his promotion to the Cabinet rank owes to this. He is planted to mingle, appease and serve Muslim interests, if possible or at least keep them expecting, confused and guessing, somehow, in order to keep them in good humour, if not won over.

The reckoning of Mr. Salman amongst Muslims has always been low and the incident of 17th Oct, 2011 has further damaged it because the opposition of the Congress has surfaced with full fury.

Neither AMU nor UPA visualized this. However, the fault lies with Mr. Salman and the Party Bosses who failed to realize the gravity of the situation. Actually, the anger and resentment reached its nadir long ago with the coming up of the so-called AMU Centres in 2009 and simultaneous patronization of the ill-intentioned VC for the purpose, who took the liberty to plunder at will with impunity.

Mr. Salman was hurt and disappointed because he could not pay visit to the place of birth and the place close to his heart, where the glorious son of AMU, Zakir Sahab his grandfather, was the VC. His hurt is misplaced because in recent past he was the guest of this very AMUTA twice and he is welcome to Aligarh any time even now but not the way he planned to provide legitimacy and encouragement to the worst-ever VC, most probably at the behest of Party Bosses. Not only this, Mr. Salman was approached repeatedly by teachers, and well-wishers of Aligarh for help and he cannot plead ignorance of the harm done to AMU in the last four years of Azis, destroying its discipline, traditions and values, academic standards, threatening its very existence, to say the least.

The Govt. is giving the impression loud and clear that it has no power to remove the VC. Would Mr. Salman a jurist of substance, endorse this stand that there is one more person in this great democratic country after the President of India, who is above the law and he is the present AMU VC!!!

What is the purpose of inquiry after inquiry without any result? Is the government buying time so that Mr. Azis may complete his term?

All actions of the Govt. remain suspect unless immediate action is taken to remove Azis from office.

Ziauddin Ahmad and others

Prof Ziauddin Ahmad was formerly Professor in the Dept of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. He can be raeched at

Law and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid failed to enter the AMU Campus

AMU Salman Khurshid failed to enter the AMU Campus: A blunder led to confrontation with Congress, head on !

Facts speak for themselves: readers make their own assessments & respond:

Shri Salman was the Chief Guest for the Sir Syed Day on 17th (many other having declined). Friends, Aligs and AMUTA, asked, advised even warned him, not to go Aligarh as long as the accused Azis is there, for reasons so well known. He was, therefore, initially reluctant, but then agreed because he nurses a deep desire to impress his Party Bosses that he has a place amongst the Muslims (you know better, his performance) and tows the dubious Congress policy of supporting the corrupt VC, for the sake of illegal AMU Centres to befool Muslims. The occasion, was favorable and convenient and he was lured to take the plunge. In his enthusiasm coupled surely with intoxication, he refused to appreciate the proposed black flag protest by AMUTA, and the respect he should hold for teachers at his place of birth, (he was the guest of honour for the same function organized by the AMUTA). However, AMUTA on its part warned in advance, the Congress leadership of its resentment and proposed protest. The new banners put up on the road by AMUTA explained it all;

Unreliable Salman Khurshid is not welcome.

Illegal off-campus Centres, Congress Conspiracy to Finish AMU.

Law Minister in AMU makes CBI probe suspect.

Dubious Congress shielding corrupt VC.

Visitors Restrain Order flouted by VC.

AMUTA had no intentions to block his entry and they made it known to the Dist. Administration. It was a different matter that the agitating students opposite the VC lodge were hugely encouraged by the presence of their teachers picketing next to them at the Staff Club and were found determined to turn Shri Salman out. Round 7 pm the road from Babe-e-Syed to the VC lodge, when Shri. Salman was expected to enter the Campus, was swarmed by students in thousands. Certainly, an ugly situation was saved by the timely intervention of the Dist. Adm.
Shri Salman reached the outskirts and waited for an hour and had discussion with the Dist. Administration which expressed its inability to ensure his trouble free entry in the Campus forcing him to quietly slip to the house of his pet Shri Bansal, local congress MLC and even refused the dinner in his honour at the Women’s College, a safe place.

Events will take such a turn, nobody had actually expected which is a fair indication of the anger brewing on the Campus against the Congress.

However, University official function was held as a formality with thin attendance of the hand picked audience and non-stop shouting and chanting by students. In the rest of the University the celebration went on with the usual fervour including the Staff Club, the teachers bastion.
One the Side lines Shri. Salman (to the question by the press) asserted that the Govt. has no role in the establishment of the illegal AMU Centres and this is all University’s own doing. This is totally incorrect and misleading and unconvincing. Such a degree of insensitivity of a Minister promoted to the rank of the Cabinet Minister and given portfolios to win and appease Muslims, shall leave him nowhere and lead to further alienation of Muslims, a very high price, the Congress can hardly afford to pay.

The whole world knows that the blessed misconceived AMU Centres were high on Govt agenda and their task made easy by collaborator Prof. Azis, who is a manipulator and has no scrupulous with full Govt. encouragement, protection and support in every way possible provided to him for the purpose. It can also not be denied that the VC in barter earned the freedom to plunder at will which the Govt. failed to contain and therefore inquiry after inquiry brought no results, created a scam of scams and the on going CBI, CVC and CAG probes have become suspects. Shri Salman who swears by AMU has done nothing to contain the VC, restrain his Govt. and protect AMU from the repercussions of the illegal AMU Centres which may ultimately finish AMU.

The present episode in Aligarh was a blunder on the part of UPA and Shri Salman, and fortunately or unfortunately they have taste of AMU and its resentment, the tide has turned against them and the line is finally drawn.

It is upto UPA to mend fences with AMU and surely the Muslims of India, by removing the VC immediately. No excuses. Let us be friends again if irritant is removed.
Aligarh se khilwadh bahut mehngah padega! Baqi aap ki marzi!

Hashmat Ali Khan
Advocate, Aligarh

Posted on on Sun, Oct 23, 2011 at 10:58 PM

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