Have faith in judiciary: AMU VC on minority status

As protests erupted over the Centre's stand on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), vice-chancellor Lt General (retd.) Zameeruddin Shah has called upon the Muslim community not to get unduly exercised on the issue and have "full faith" in judiciary.

In a written appeal today, Shah said that while all right minded citizens of the country were rightly concerned about the issue of restoration of minority character of the historic institution of higher learning, "we should have full faith in our judicial system for protecting minority rights".

Shah's appeal came in the wake of a number of protests by minority groups on the campus and also in the old city yesterday.

The issue of restoration of minority character of AMU is at present 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 university in the apex court on this issue.

On January 11, Attorney Journal Mukul Rohatagi, during the hearing of this case, 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.

The AMU vice-chancellor told PTI that it would be counter productive if people get carried away on this issue or resort to unconstitutional methods of protest.

"I have sought a meeting with the Prime Minister to apprise him of the situation and I am sure that he would respond positively and address our concerns," he said.

The issue was further compounded on Thursday last following media reports that the government was also mulling the option of reversing the decision of the Vajpayee-led NDA government to grant minority status to Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.

It may be mentioned that in 2006 a division Bench of the Allahabad High Court had struck down a provision of the 1981 AMU Amendment Act, under which the university was enjoying the status of a minority institution.

The university immediately appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court.

The AMU vice-chancellor in his appeal said that the university has appointed the best available legal brains in the country for defending its case in the Supreme Court.

A battery of lawyers including Harish Salve, Rajiv Dhawan and PP Rao were presently representing the university. Efforts were also on to seek the assistance of another legal luminary, Gopal Subramaniam, he added.