'Retain AMU's minority status': Students submit charter of demands to PM
LUCKNOW: While PM Narendra Modi was addressing the students, teachers, and administrative authorities of Aligarh Muslim University through a video link on the occasion of varsity’s centenary celebration on Tuesday, the students were handing over a charter of demands to Vice-Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor addressed to the PM on Tuesday.
Though the charter, the students had put forward seven major demands to be met by the Central government.
While their first demand pertains to retaining the minority character of AMU, the other demand put forth was to set up a central university for deprived sections of society including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for their academic uplift.
“We are demanding that the government should stand in support of Aligarh Muslim University’s minority character,” says the charter.
The other demands include the reinstatement of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and according to the pre-Art 370 abrogation special status to it. There are around 700 Kashmiri students pursuing a different course in AMU and a few of them had staged a protest march on the campus last year to express their
opposition to Centre’s decision to do away with Art 370 in Valley.
The students have also demanded the PM to revoke amendments made into Citizenship Act in 2019. Their main objection was to alleged insertion of the religious criteria for acquiring the citizenship of India which they claimed was against the tenets the Constitution.
The fourth demand deals with the withdrawal of newly-passed three farm laws which are witnessing a huge protest by the farmers in and around the national capital. “The government should withdraw the three farm laws which have been passed by the government without consulting the stakeholders,” says the charter.
The students have also demanded the Centre to direct state authorities to withdraw cases lodged against hundreds of students of all the universities during anti-CAA protests so that they could pursue their career with dignity. The students’ charter of demand also speaks about the increasing funds for AMU.
However, earlier, when the PM’s acceptance of the invitation to be part of Aligarh Muslim University centenary celebrations had sparked off debate and discussion among the students on campus.
Not only the students but the teachers also felt that it was an endeavour taken up by the PM to utilise the occasion as a move to Muslim outreach and engage with the Muslim world out there.