AMU Teachers Assn, alumni to boycott Syed Day events

Aligarh: The AMU Teachers Association and alumni organisations Monday declared they will boycott all official Sir Syed Day celebrations on October 17 and observe “Save AMU Day” instead over the delay in appointing the next vice-chancellor.

Aligarh Muslim University has not had a permanent vice-chancellor (VC) since April when

Tariq Mansoor resigned from the post following his nomination as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. Professor Mohammad Gulrez has been working as the Acting VC since then.

In a memorandum addressed to the President of India Droupadi Murmu, a joint coordination committee of the teachers’ association and the alumni bodies sought her intervention in starting the process of appointing the next VC.

It alleged that norms and regulations were being side-lined and democratic bodies within the institution were becoming defunct. Azam Baig, an alumnus, former president of the AMU Students Association and the convenor of the joint coordination committee, said hundreds of alumni and teachers of the AMU held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday evening and issued a call to observe “Save AMU Day” on Tuesday.

He alleged that the university was facing an existential crisis because of policy paralysis in the absence of a regular vice-chancellor. Aligarh Muslim University was established in 1920. It evolved out of Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental, which was set up on January 7, 1877, by social reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.