Aligarh university had approval for quota policy

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is once again at the centre of yet another controversy.

Recently, the university had decided to reserve 50 per cent of the seats at the post-graduate level in medicine for Muslims.

The university had obtained prior approval from the Human Resources and Development (HRD) Ministry. The new policy was seen to be in conformity with the AMU Amendment Act of 1981, passed by Parliament.

But the Allahabad High Court has found the decision to be against the spirit of the Constitution, and the court had said that the AMU Amendment Act was unconstitutional as well.

Former vice-chancellor of AMU and former Indian ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Hamid Ansari, in an interview with Gulf News, says there is no denying the fact that Muslims in India are backward in the educational, economic and social spheres, and that there is a need for affirmative action to take corrective social action on the part of the government.

Excerpts from the interview:

Gulf News: How will this controversy play out?
Hamid Ansari: The Aligarh Muslim University's new reservation policy was within the ambit of the 1981 Amendment Act, and it had taken prior approval from the Human Resources Development Ministry.

Do you think there is a need for a reservation policy?
You have to take into account the social reality. The majority of Muslims in India are backward in the educational, economic and social spheres. There is need for affirmative action on the part of the government.

As the Muslims constitute a significant segment of the national polity, their backwardness will bring down the overall national development levels.

Why is it that the question of Muslim backwardness comes up time and again?
The fact of backwardness has always been there. But due to the peculiar circumstances that followed Independence, we refused to accept the reality.

There is a need to acknowledge the fact of Muslim backwardness. The government has tried to grapple with it from time to time.

In the early 1980s, there was the Gopal Singh Committee, which was set up to look into the status of the Muslims on the axis of social, educational and economic parameters. But it was not very comprehensive.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up some time ago another committee to look into the status and condition of Muslims.

The committee is headed by former judge Rajender Sachar. The committee is likely to submit its report in a few months' time.

Any debate on AMU tends to get polarised on communal lines. What is the way out of it?
We have to go beyond the labels of "communal" and "secular" and look at the substance of the matter. It is easy to call someone "communal" because we do not agree with that person.

But that is not the issue. The hard fact is that Muslims are in a backward situation, and there is need for affirmative action.

You were the Vice-Chancellor of the AMU? What is your assessment?
Like in any institution, it has its peculiar problems. For example, when I took over, I was told that the university library remains open till midnight. I was surprised and curious. I wanted to know whether the students were so studious.

Then I came to know that there was not much space in the crowded hostel rooms, and that the students had to go to the library where there were tables and chairs for them to sit down and do their reading.