Students of Aligarh Muslim University who wish to meet their Vice-Chancellor will have to wear 'sherwanis' while hostel inmates have been barred from using motorcycle in the campus under new directives that have created a flutter.
AMU Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen (retd) Zameer Uddin Shah in his open letter to students on April 27 has asked the students to wear a 'sherwani' while coming to meet him.
Girls are also asked to be dressed according to customs and traditions of the university while meeting the VC.
To check "nefarious" elements, the university authority has banned use of motorcycle by the hostel inmates.
AMU spokesman Rahat Abrar said some "mischievous elements" had found refuge in some university hostels over the past several years.
Such elements have also been frequently using two-wheelers for "nefarious activities", he said adding that VC had now taken a very bold decision of "completely banning the use of motorcycles by hostel inmates".
However, this ban covers only hostel students and not the non-resident students who stay in their own homes, he said.
The directives drew flack from students who said they were being subjected to avoidable hassles.
Defending the decision, Abrar claimed that VC's call had evoked wide spread support from the institution's alumni, not only in India but from all over the globe.
Abrar said that it was unfortunate that a section of media had blown the matter out of proportion.
At the time of admission, every male student has to deposit a certain fixed amount as tailoring charges for the University's uniform and Sherwani was stitched at a subsidised rate for them.
There is nothing new in this practice which has been in place for decades now, the spokesman claimed.
