AMU student demands construction of temple in campus

A student of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has written a letter to the Vice Chancellor demanding the construction of a Saraswati Temple inside the varsity's campus.

Dr Manvendra Pratap Singh, a member of the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education, also backed the demand for the construction of temple inside the AMU campus.

"There are at least 6,000 Hindu students in the university, but there is not a single temple, while there are mosques in almost every hostel. What kind of secularism is this?" he said.

"When there can be temples in Arab countries, which are 100 per cent Muslim countries, why can't there be one here in AMU? I want to ask this question to all the secular people, to the Congress as well, who preach these talks but have never talked about a temple in AMU. The university's secularity will only be accepted when there are temples, mosques, gurudwaras, etc, side-by-side," Pratap added.

However, former Student Union President of the university, Faizul Hasan advocated against the construction of the temple inside the varsity and recalled a 2015 Supreme Court's verdict, which barred the construction or demolition of any religious building in central universities or educational institutions.

Addressing the media, Hasan said, "In 2015, the Supreme Court had ruled that any new religious building, like temples, mosques, churches, etc, will not be constructed in central universities or educational institutions. The court also said that any existing temple or mosque will not be demolished."

While asserting that such controversies spread hatred in the community, Hasan stated that because of the apex court's verdict, the temple cannot be constructed inside the campus even if the whole university backs the demand.