AMUTA Hony Secretary;s Report to Members at Begining of Summer Vacation

ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION, ALIGARH

S. Mustafa Zaidi Hony. Secretary

Teaching Staff Club, AMU, Aligarh, 202002 0571-3203520(O); 0571-2720011 (R); 09411802364 (M) Email: secretaryamuta@gmail.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AMUTeachers Blog: http://www.secretaryamuta.blogspot.com

Letter to AMU Teachers                              June 01, 2011

I take this opportunity to congratulate the General Body of AMUTA for a successful month-long dharna and three week-long relay hunger strike for our demands; to immediately reopen the University; the removal of the Proctor for his anti-University utterances/actions; and resignation/ recall of the Vice-Chancellor for administrative and financial indifference, incompetence, incapability, mismanagement and irregularities. The first demand has been met successfully, as never before was the University reopened within a week of its sine die closure. The second demand of removal of the Proctor is cold shouldered by the Vice-Chancellor disregarding the immense damage caused to the fair name of the University. The third demand of resignation/ recall of the Vice Chancellor requires the intervention of the Visitor of the University. Therefore, the President and the Hony. Secretary of AMUTA went to Delhi and met Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister HRD, in the evening of 30.05.11. The office bearers apprised the Minister that a number of representations, memoranda and requests have been made by the stakeholders in the University and therefore nothing new is to be added except an update of the situation, which is worsening with each passing day. We shared with him the perception that there appears to be a mismatch between the public pronouncements of the Congress Party and its Government on corruption and administrative inefficiency, mismanagement; and its visible support to Dr. Azis, whose continuance as Vice Chancellor is tarnishing the image of the University. The Minister, while appreciating the difficulties faced by the successive Visitorial Inquiry Committees, gave us a patient hearing and assured us of tangible results The meeting was held in a cordial and pleasant atmosphere. We returned with a feeling that our consistent stand on the issues of corruption, mismanagement of the University and the establishment of Centres outside Aligarh is at last finding resonance in the power corridors of the Government.

            We, with the help of  Mr. Waseem Ahmad, Ex-M.P, managed to meet Mr. Ahmad Patel, Political Secretary to Ms. Sonia Gandhi, Mr. Choudhary Birendra Singh, AICC General Secretary and member CWC as well as Mr. Harish Rawat, Union Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, who were already aware of our concerns with regard to continuance of Dr. Azis as the Vice-Chancellor. They appreciated our efforts to safeguard the character of Aligarh Muslim University against the establishment of Centres and promised their help in our endeavours.

            The members of the Action Committee shall be meeting soon to draw up future plan of action both in Aligarh and outside, so that when the University reopens in August, 2011 we have a new dispensation at the University.

The members of the AMUTA are informed that for the present there is no change in the programme of dharna and relay hunger strike, we shall continue our struggle as we are getting an encouraging response. However, there was a misleading and motivated press report in a section of the media of our withdrawing the relay hunger strike.

We warn the University administration not to be adventurous and force the AMUTA to intensify its agitation.

Finally it is appealed to all members to continue to visit the dharna and participate in the relay hunger strike demonstrate solidarity.

(S. Mustafa Zaidi)