Tension defused in AMU

After several days of tussle and brinkmanship between AMU authorities, students union office bearers and some Hindutva groups over the birthday celebrations of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, the tension was defused Saturday.

Aligarh Muslim University Vice Chancellor Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) said that he had been assured there would be no crowd at the university gate to celebrate Raja Mahendra Pratap's 128th birth anniversary Dec 1.

Gen. Shah had suggested that birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap could be organized at Raja Mahendra Pratap park near Tasveer Mahal. The concerned parties have accepted his proposal and assured that there will be no gathering outside the AMU Gate.

The Vice Chancellor has announced that the Aligarh Muslim University will organize a Seminar on Raja Mahendra Pratap's contribution to freedom struggle. He said that the date of the seminar will be announced later on.

Earlier, a letter written by VC to Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani warning of "massive unrest" and probability of "communal conflagration" if the birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh is celebrated on the varsity's campus Dec 1, had snowballed into a major political controversy.

He, however, had refused to name those who will create tensions.

Irani had Friday denied receiving any letter from him.

Shah's letter warned the minister about a massive unrest over the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state unit's plan to mark the birth anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap, who, according to them, had donated the land within the campus for the university.

However, Shah said Pratap had leased the land to the varsity.

Speaking to CNN-IBN news channel, the VC had said: "Raja Mahendra Pratap was a benefactor of the university and I also made it clear that he did not gift any land...The land was on a lease deed for which the university has paid."