Lt. Gen. Zameeruddin Shah, who has recently taken over as Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, is maintaining a diplomatic stance on the contentious issue of allowing undergraduate students from Abdullah Hall to use the Maulana Azad Library.
Lt. Gen. Shah says he has a blueprint for improving the condition of hostels, addressing the concerns of the students, and improving the standards of Abdullah Hall.
‘Room for change’
He also has first hand experience of how female students live in Abdullah Hall, the Women’s College of the University. His daughter was a student at Abdullah Hall and Lt. Gen. Shah, like other parents, had to meet her “outside the gates of the college”. While he is quick to point out that his daughter has “happy memories” of her year-long stay in Abdullah Hall, he admits there is room for change.
“We are still examining the issue [of allowing students into MAL]; if it can be done, it will be done. But MAL has space issues. It is overcrowded and more than 25,000 students use it. But we will see what we can do,” he told The Hindu .
The Hindu was the first to report in September 2011, about how undergraduate non-professional students of Abdullah Hall are being kept out of the MAL, despite repeated petitions from the students and the faculty.
The practice continues, even after the Union Human Resource Development Ministry has asked the University to make amends. Faculty members who have been leading the campaign for equal rights within the University are unconvinced about the logistical excuse cited by the authorities.
“We are hopeful that the new administration will rectify the past denials for the Women’s College students. These should not continue in the name of tradition. After all, students of Women’s College at least, as we know, had access to the University library till 1960s. The matters of logistics, if any, can be sorted out,” said Dr. Shadab Bano, of the History Department.
‘Poor living standards’
Students in the various hostels inside the precincts of the Abdullah Hall have also been complaining of “poor living standards”.
In September 2011, when The Hindu visited some of the hostels, the inmates complained of poor hygienic standards in the kitchens and the washrooms, and overcrowding in the hostels.
Admitting that the hostels are in need of an overhaul, Lt. Gen. Shah said: “We are going to give the hostels a total face lift. The kitchens will be modernised, we are aware there is overcrowding in the rooms and they are not very comfortable. There will be changes...” The University’s explanation about “creating a protective environment” for the girls is, however, criticised by a section of faculty and students.
“The girls should be given an option; whether they use the MAL or not should be their decision. Over crowding is everywhere, in hospitals, in trains, on the streets, but we cannot stop the women from stepping out. By preventing the girls from using MAL or keeping them closeted within Abdullah Hall, we are going against the spirit in which the College was set up - to encourage women to step out and get an education,” said Dr. A.K. Amitava of the Department of Ophthalmology, AMU Medical College.
Reacting to the complaints of restrictions for girls in Abdullah hall, the Vice-Chancellor said: “The restrictions are there because we have to keep in mind that a majority of the girls come from very conservative backgrounds. We cannot wish the restrictions away. I am in the place of their parents, and I have to do what they [the parents] would have wanted me to do. I believe in gender equality, but the environment and the background that these girls come from has to be kept in view.”
“There will be better interaction between students and administration. My wife will be a frequent visitor. We will see what the girls need and there will be as much liberty as is possible,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
