Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Denying democratic rights of AMU Students


I wish to congratulate all the new elected members of the AMU Court and expect that they would work hard towards the betterment of the Aligarh Muslim University. I also wish to curse those people who are trying to vitiate the “academic atmosphere (I am confused about how! What’s their modus operandi? Is it democratic or undemocratic? If democratic then whether it really vitiates or not? If vitiates then how come democracy is a virtue and always welcomed in the AMU’s official parlance? Oh! I am getting confused again)” of my beloved Alma mater. They must be shown the door else we will be doomed.

Being at my native place in Bengal now, lost in the idyllic milieu of the rural sceneries, feeling the last chill of winter and merrily reciting Shelley’s “If winter comes can spring be far behind” couplet, I can also imagine the rejoice of those “mature people” of administration or those from outside it in the practicing of their democratic rights and electing not selecting of people of their choice. So I believe all must know the contentment of election over selection among any voter. They also feel the same thrill in their blood seeing people of their choice mentioned in the same couplet by Shelley, “If winter (he/she) comes can spring (my/our benefit) be far behind”? But rarely any intellectual or sympathizer to AMU and its students mentioned about the representation of them in the AMU Court at any place in the recent times.

Ohh leave them! They are the immature, innocent looking faces with simple nature who don’t and should not know about the world, already bowed down by many pressures around. What they have to do with complicated things like Court and Academic Council? Do one thing! Gift them toy of a Grievance Committee instead, a very simple thing with no written rules like of AMU Court and AC. Yes this is ‘the democracy’ for you boys and girls! It’s completely made by us, the “mature minds” of the AMU who won’t ever allow polluting your mind with all this by the Insiders, Outsiders and so many siders lurking around at AMU only. Many can buy this idea, I can’t.

I think the time has come when students should be given their legitimate representation at the AMU Court and Academic Council to uphold the same democratic value AMU administration is talking about now to give the“new members” the same chance like other existing Court Members of electing the top post of Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor and others. And its not covered by Lyngdoh Committee recommendations also that administration hands are tied.

Whether an institution should have Students Union or not or what’s positive or negative influence at AMU or its legal validity, for this moment I don’t want to discuss that. However, I want one people to stand and argue that election of student representative at the AMU Court or Academic Council can hamper “peaceful academic atmosphere”. The AMU Act, 1981 put this obligation on the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor as his Power and Dutiesin the Statute 3(2), It shall be the duty of the Vice-Chancellor to see that the Act, the Statutes, the Ordinances and the Regulations are duly observed, and he shall have all powers necessary to ensure such observance.” And AMU administration has been asked to give students mandatory representation at the AMU Court and Academic Council under the (Statute 14 (1) (xxx) (b)) & (Statute 18 (1) (xv)) respectively. (Source- AMU official website http://www.amu.ac.in/rsection/ShowCircularNotice.jsp?tp=Council ).

Now this is the responsibility of the AMU Court and respective Vice-Chancellor to be self-righteous and committed to protect the sanctity of the AMU Act because as an autonomous body nobody can check it except itself. I don’t know even why Former Vice-Chancellor Janab Naseem Ahmad did not conduct Academic Council elections for students when he restored AMUSU and elected student representative of AMU Court which is I think very important statutory body.

I was looking at the AMU Ordinances (Executive) and specially Chapter XV & Chapter XV (A) which give systematic procedure for the election of the students’ representative at the AMU Court and AC. And one must feel certain that if the Eligibility Criteria for students contesting the Court and AC are observed fully in compliance to the “Eligibility Criteria for contesting AC election mentioned in Section 2 of Chapter XV (A)”(I request Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor Sir to make the same for AMU Court also) only good students will enter in such statutory bodies.

I request the readers to read it and comment whether all student elections at AMU should be held by this Ordinances or not which I support to have a clean vibrant democratic student body. I sometime don’t understand, even when every rules and regulations are already there which is as strict as Lyngdoh Committee ones then why this ignorance from the side of AMU administration to use it?

Source-http://www.amu.ac.in/rsection/9977.pdf

Chapter XV(A) of AMU Ordinances(Executive)

2. Only a student eligible to vote under Clause (1)

shall be eligible to be a candidate for election.

Provided that no student, though otherwise eligible to

be a candidate can be elected to membership of the Academic

Council if :-

(a) he has failed to complete the whole course to

which he may at any time have been admitted at

this University or any other University, within

period prescribed for that course; or

(b) he has failed to clear or complete part of a course

that he is currently admitted to within the

minimum period prescribed for that part of the

course by the Ordinances (Academic); or

(c) he has been judged guilty of indicipline or gross

misconduct and has been expelled from the rolls

of the University for a period of six months or

more for the offence; or

(d) there is a break exceeding one academic year

between the course last completed by him at

this University or any other University and the

next course to which he has been admitted; or

(e) the period for which he has been a regular

studnet of this University (Excluding Pre-

University/Senior Secondary Course) exceeds 8

years; or

(f) he is in the service of the University or any other

Government or Statutory body notwithstanding

that he is on leave.

(* E. C. Res. No. 57 dated 19. 04. 1986)

After knowing all this , sheer ignorance and the eagerness to snatch the democratic right from the students to send their representative at the AMU Court and Academic Council can only be termed as “Unfortunate”. Students are really unlucky and have enough reason to be felt grieved.

If people from the Supreme Governing Body of AMU and our Chief Executive Officer are not eager to follow the AMU Act then who will?

The time has come to be honest to our job.

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