In. view of the special and historical association of the Muslim Community with the Aligarh Muslim University, we, the undersigned representatives of the major non-political Muslim Organisations and Institutions of the country beg your leave to submit this Memorandum for your kind consideration in your capacity as the Visitor of the University.
At its meeting on 10 April 2000, the AMU Court has recommended the statutory panel of three names for appointment as Vice-Chancellor, on completion of the term of the present incumbent Mahmoodur Rahman, IAS, for your consideration as the Visitor of the University. The Panel includes the name of the present Vice-Chancellor, Mahmoodur Rahman.
It may be recalled that the AMU Staff Association had submitted a Memorandum to you as the Visitor on 30 January, 2000, and requested you to remove Rahman and to order an inquiry in the affairs of the University during his term. Now that his term is coming to a close the Memorandum has been overtaken by events. It may be added, however, that the Act does not envisage the reappointment of a VC, though it may not specifically bar such reappointment.
The tenure of Mahmoodur Rahman has been a period of tension, turbulence and turmoil, largely due to his divisive policies, authoritarian style of functioning, arbitrary exercise of power, rampant favouritism, gross maladministration, deliberate subversion of the authority of other University bodies. which led to public controversies, students agitation and alienation of the minority community. The conduct of the VC has not been in consonance with the highest standards of dignity, decency and decorum or in full accord with the letter and spirit of the AMU Act and its Statutes and Regulations, as illustrated below: -
The VC arbitrarily and massively exercised emergency powers under Section 19(3) of the AMU and effectively undermined the statutory bodies including the Court, the Executive Council and the Academic Council. To quote an example, 447 instances were brought before the E.C. .for information between February and September, 1998! Even appointments were made under emergency powers. In fact during his tenure, the University bodies were not convened to meet as required under the Rules. The Court never held any discussion on the Annual Reports of the University which were prepared by the VC, approved by the VC and transmitted by the VC to the Government of India.
Without the consent of the Academic Council, he authorised private students to take University Examinations at Masters level in Sciences. In contravention of the Act and without approval of the Visitor, he established a teaching Centre in Dubai, UAE. The VC brought down the prestige of the University with his many controversial public statements, such as those designating the University as 'infested with terrorism', questioning the historical character of the University, proposing affiliation of local colleges which would have destroyed its residential character, removing the word "Muslim" from the name of the University, falsely alleging molestation of Harijan girl and demolition of a Shiv Temple on the Campus and accusing University students of complicity in riots in Aligarh city etc.
The VC publicly projected himself as enjoying the unqualified backing of the Central Government and ran the University as a personal fist, without any meaningful intercourse, even with the senior staff and students.
Absenting himself from the campus during crises he nevertheless converted the V.C.'s Lodge into a fortress and the Campus into a police camp. During his term, the University was closed 5 times in November 1995, September 1996, July 1997, October 1998 and in December, 1999 with the students forced to vacate the hostels and the parents burdened with additional expenditure.
He virtually abolished the University Union and thus deprived the student body of a valuable forum to provide a democratic channel for redressal of genuine grievances, for improvement of the physical and academic environment and, what is more important, to train them for their future role as responsible citizens.
The VC brought down the dignity of office by brandishing a revolver at and physically assaulting students and by threatening them with disciplinary action at every turn and, in fact, serving them Show Cause Notices and even rusticating scores of them, some without observing due process.
The VC encouraged the culture of violence on the campus, gave recognition to known criminals. It is a different matter that some of his prote'ge's later turned against him.
The VC tried to form a Volunteer Corps – as vigilantes - to 'maintain peace on the Campus' in every Faculty/Departments/Colleges
The V.C. distanced himself from senior teachers and alienated the teaching staff by refusing to meet the representative of the AMU Staff Association to discuss their grievances. He suspended teachers without due process. He violated the convention of appointing the seniormost Professor as the Acting VC in his absence. Bypassing legitimate claims, he kept the post of P.V.C. vacant and then appointed one of the Registrars, and a junior Professor at that, not only as Pro-VC but also as the Controller of Examinations, the Director of the Academic Staff College and gave him charge of several other posts.
In matters of selection, appointment, confirmation and promotion, even of grant of leave to teachers, the VC did not follow any consistent and uniform policy, resulting in pick-and-choose and open favouritism, He deliberately avoided making regular appointment to senior posts including those of 5 Principals as it suited him to keep ad-hoc appointees under his thumb.
PRE-SELECTION MANIPULATIONS
In his bid for reappointment, Mr. Rahman adopted all possible means, fair and foul, to get himself included in the Panel. On one hand he ran a high power media campaign to glorify himself. On the other, he packed the Executive Council and the Court with his supporters, by replacing university officers and ad-hoc principals after the announcement of the dates for the special meetings of the Executive Council and of the Court.
He delayed the process of selection to the last minute, gave very short notice to the members of the E.C. and the Court and kept only a gap of 2 days between the meeting of the E.C. and the Court so that the external members would be discouraged from coming, without any knowledge of the decision of the E.C. The result was that the Special Meeting of the Court had poor attendance, though weighted in his favour.
In view of the above, we feel that during his tenure Mr. Rahman mismanaged the affairs of the University and failed to inspire the Staff and the Students. He failed because he tried to manage the affairs of the University with the methods and skills he mastered in dealing with the insurgency in J&K. Such methods may create an atmosphere of fear and sycophancy but cannot promote the academic enterprise. To sum up, Mr. Rahman has done considerable damage to the University and if reappointed, he will destroy it.
REQUEST
Fortunately the Panel includes the name of the distinguished diplomat M.Hamid Ansari, IFS (Retd.) who is himself a product of the University and is indeed today the Aligarian with the highest achievement.
Although Mr. Ansari has only 2 years to go before reaching the statutory age of retirement, we feel that with his past association with the University as student and teacher, and his vast diplomatic experience he can heal the wounded psyche of the University, restore normalcy in the Campus and put it back on the path of academic excellence.
We, therefore, humbly respectfully submit for your gracious consideration that Mr. Rahman should not be reappointed for the cogent reasons outlined above and Mr. Ansari be appointed as the next Vice-Chancellor of the AMU. We assure you that Mr. Ansari's appointment will be welcomed notonly by the University community and its old Boys but the Muslim Indian community, as a whole.
Mohd. Salim Qasmi, Mohtamim, Darul-ul-Uloom, Deoband and President, A.I. Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Mujahidul Islam· Qasmi, Secy. Gen., A.I. Milli Council Mohd. Sirajul Hasan, Amir, Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind Syed Ahmad Hashmi, Gen. Secy., A.I. Milli Jamiatul-Ulema-e-Hind Syed Shahabuddin, Vice-President, A.I.Muslim Majlis- c-Mushawarat Navaid Hamid, Secretary, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians
SOME BOOKS OF INTEREST
ALI, DAUD : Invoking the Past: The Uses of History in. South Asia. OUP, 1999.
BHARGAVA, RAJEEV, : Multi-culturalism, Liberalism and Democracy: Oh Terrifying CALDWELL,SARAH& Mother; Trans-Himalayan Caravans. OUP, New Delhi. RIZ, JANET
CHANDHOKE, NEERA : Beyond Secularism: Rights of Religious Minorities.
DHAR, P.N. : Indira Gandhi the "Emergency" and Indian Democracy. OUP.
GEORGE, T.J.S. : India 1000 to 2000 (The Story of a Thousand Years). Express
Publications(Madurai) Ltd.Express Estate, Anna Salai,Chennai-2.
GHOSH, PARTHA S. : BJP and the Evolution of Hindu Nationalism - From Periphery to
Centre. 1999.
HABIB, IRFAN : Confronting Resistance & Modernisatior under Haider Ali. & Tipu
Sultan.
HANSEN, THOMAS : The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern
India. OUP, 1999
JONES, ROSIE LLEWELLYN : Engaging Scoundrels, True Tales of Old Lucknow. OUP ..
KEAY, JOHN : India: A History. Harper Collins India.
KUMAR, SUKRITA : Ismat: Her Life, her Times.
PAUL & KATHA, SADIQUE
KRISHNA, R. GOPAL : A Nation in Turmoil. UBSPD
KULKE, HERMAN : The State in India, 1000-1700. OUP
LOW, D.A. : Britain and Indian Nationalism: The Imprint of Ambiguity 1929-
1942. Cambridge University Press.
MAHAJAN, SUCHETA : Independence and Partition Sage.
MAHESHWARI, A.P. : Communálism. Ajanta.
MIR, MUSTANSIR (Tr.) : Tulip in the Desert: A Selection of the Poetry of .Muhammad Iqbal
Orient Longman.
NIZAMI, ZAFARAHMAD:Me'maran-e-Jamia Millia Islamia.Maktaba JamiaLtd.New Delhi.
THAKUR,SANKARSHAN : The Making of Laloo Yadav -The Unmaking of Bihar. Harper
Collins India.
