AMU minority status needs to restored: Prof

An AMU professor today pitched for for restoration of the "minority" tag of the varsity, saying "those who play games" are making the matter complex.
"Those who play games are making the matter complex. The minority character of the university should continue. Otherwise people there, who built it, will be depressed," Saghir Afraheim, a professor attached to AMU's Urdu department, said without naming anyone, on the sidelines of first World Sufi Forum here.
The issue of restoration of minority character of AMU is pending with the Supreme Court, but what has triggered off the protests is the Centre's recent decision to reverse the UPA government's stand of supporting the varsity on this issue.

On January 11, Attorney Journal Mukul Rohatagi had told the court that the NDA government did not support the idea of a state-funded minority institution in a secular state, sparking off a controversy.
AMU Vice Chancellor Zameer Uddin Shah had earlier this month met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought the NDA governments support in restoring the varsitys minority status.
Shah today called on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and discussed issues pertaining to education.

Afraheim, who presented a paper on 'Sufism is River of Humanity' during today's event, also rued over declining number of Urdu-speaking people and blamed "some sections" for impressing upon people that the language belonged only to Muslims.

"Muslims came from different parts of the world and they blended themselves in this land and followed Ganges-Yamuna culture. Urdu is an Indian language," he said and called for efforts to ensure that "our language flourishes".
Afraheim also observed that increasing number of parents and children are preferring English medium of instruction over Indian languages.