AMU always secular, case on minority character pending before court: Aligarh PRO

Responding to a University Grants Commission (UGC) panel's recommendation that the words Muslim and Hindu be dropped from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) respectively, the Aligarh-based minority institution today said the idea is contradictory since the varsity was "always secular".

"I have seen this report this morning. The term of reference of this committee is very important. The names Banaras Hindu University and Aligarh Muslim University do not portray that these universities are not secular. This is a contradiction in itself since AMU has always been a secular university," Mohammad Asim Siddiqui of the AMU Public Relations Office said today.

The UGC panel has said that words such as 'Hindu' and 'Muslim' in the names of the two universities do not reflect their secular character and should be dropped. A member of the panel, on the condition of anonymity, told news agency PTI that centrally-funded universities are secular institutions, but such words related to religion in their names do not reflect that character.

The two universities can be simply called Aligarh University and Banaras University, or be renamed after their founders, the panel member said. The panel was formed to probe the alleged irregularities in 10 central universities and the recommendations have been made in the audit report of AMU.

WHAT IS AMU MINORITY CHARACTER CASE?

Siddiqui said the students in these universities are enrolled on the basis of "merit and not their religion". He added that he will not respond to the UGC panel's recommendation since a case regarding the minority character of the AMU is already pending in court.

In an affidvait before the Supreme Court, the government has said that both the Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi-based Jamia Millia Islamia are not minority institutions. In AMU's case, the affidavit says it was set up by an act of Parliament, and not by Muslims, hence it cannot be called a minority institution.

The AMU has argued that it is a narrow reading of history, and that Article 30(1) of the Constitution gives all religious and linguistic minorities the right to set up and run educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities.

In 1981, Parliament passed an AMU Amendment Act, which had accepted that AMU was set up by Muslims. Later, in 2005, the Allahabad High Court ruled that the 1981 Act was ultra vires of the Constitution, and that AMU was not a minority institution.

The AMU appealed against the order and the Supreme Court too stayed the Allahabad High Court decision. On January 11, 2016, the BJP-led government at the Centre reversed its earlier stand and said that it was not a minority institution as it was set up by Parliament.

The Supreme Court verdict in this case is still pending.