Mumbai: In a sharply-worded letter addressed to Union HRD MInister Smriti Irani Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice Chancellor Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah opposed the local BJP unit's plan to mark the birth anniversary of Jat leader Raja Mahendra Pratap within the campus and warned that the event may spark unrest.
[The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was established by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and other Muslim leaders of the time in 1920.]
While opposing the proposed event, the AMU VC said he appreciated that Raja Mahenda Pratap was AMU alumnus who leased the land but added that there were many who donated lands to the Muslim university.
"We acknowledge that Raja Mahendra Pratap did lease 1.221 hectares (3.04 acres) of land in 1929 at Rs.2/- per annum to AMU. Moreover, we are proud of the fact that this freedom fighter was our alumnus. Besides him, however, there were a large number of other donors. The bulk of the land was procured from the British Government which was in the process of closing down the Aligarh “Chhawani” (Cantonment) from which Sir Syed got 74 acres", the AMU VC wrote is his letter.
"In view of the threat of disturbance from these people, claiming to be affiliated to various political parties/outfits, another political outfit opposing them joined the fray and announced that they would not allow the rally to be held", he wrote.
"This political gamesmanship, if allowed to proceed, has potential for serious trouble", he warned.
"In addition to the above, the families of other donors (what to say of those who have given land on lease) have jumped into the fray and also want celebrations for their ancestors, who were donors", he wrote.
"We celebrate only the Sir Syed (founder's) Day and cannot have a myriad of celebrations, although we do acknowledge generosity of donors", he wrote.
The Vice Chancellor met leaders of the BJP and its student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Tuesday in what was described as an attempt to defuse the situation.
The AMU VC alleged that while the university had asked the BJP to shift its celebrations to a patch of land donated by the legendary freedom fighter near the campus, the party's activists had insisted on a venue within the campus, which, he said, would lead to a "confrontation".
"The majority of AMU students are annoyed with this intransigence," he told the minister.
"AMU does not want to get involved in politics and the University needs your earnest support urgently as there is a serious threat to law and order," wrote the Vice Chancellor.
The BJP has accused the university of ignoring the contributions of Raja Mahendra Pratap, an alumnus who donated land to AMU.
"On the 1st, we will celebrate his (Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh's) birthday. If the Vice Chancellor wants to celebrate in AMU, I welcome it. If that's not the case, then the BJP has decided that we will celebrate the birthday within AMU... No doubt about it," said Satish Gautam, the BJP parliamentarian from Aligarh.
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