A protest for the restoration of the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union has expanded across the campus. Students are boycotting classes and joining an ongoing hunger strike. The agitation is about to enter its fourth week. The movement started with a demand for student representation. It has now grown into a wider campus protest with three main demands. Students want AMU Students’ Union elections. They want the resignation of the university proctor. They also want the withdrawal of suspensions that they call unlawful. Scroll for more details.
The Three Main Demands
The first demand is the restoration of the AMU Students’ Union and the start of the electoral process. Students say union elections have not been held since 2018-19. They are asking for a chief election officer and a final election date. They point to the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee and its guidelines on student union elections. For the students the issue is bigger than one election. They argue that the long absence of an elected union has left them without a formal platform. Such a body is needed to raise academic administrative and welfare concerns with the university. The second demand is the resignation of the AMU proctor. Students question the conduct of the proctorial administration and what they call the excessive use of disciplinary powers. Female students refer to an earlier incident involving students of Abdullah Hall. They say the proctorial administration behaved inappropriately in that matter. Some students also allege that the proctor’s office has created an atmosphere of pressure and fear. They mention phone calls, summons and official communications including matters involving female students. The third demand is the withdrawal of suspensions that protesters describe as unlawful.
Hunger Strike and Growing Campus Support
At the centre of the agitation is the indefinite hunger strike by Yaser Fahad at Duck Point. Students have repeatedly expressed concern over his health and asked for a quick resolution. Tension rose at Duck Point during the night of 6 and 7 October. A medical team and members of the proctorial administration came to assess his condition. Protesters say there was an attempt to take Fahad to hospital. Fahad said he wanted medical help at the protest site. Students then formed a human chain around him and stayed at the site. They wanted his health monitored without ending the protest or moving him away. This incident gave new momentum to the agitation and students stayed at Duck Point through the night. Female students have joined the protest in large numbers. Students from Abdullah Hall, Indira Gandhi Hall and Begum Sultan Jahan Hall are taking part. They are raising slogans in support of the demands. Their participation has widened the agitation beyond the group at Duck Point. The protest has also spread to academic departments. Students from Urdu Law and other major departments are boycotting classes. This boycott has turned a single location protest into a wider campus movement. The campaign has also received support from outside the university. Danish Ali the joint secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, spoke to students at Duck Point and expressed solidarity. The dispute has also entered a legal and administrative phase. On 6 October advocate and former AMU student Syed Kaif Hasan sent a legal notice to the AMU vice-chancellor, the registrar and the Dean of Students’ Welfare. The notice raised concerns about alleged derogatory remarks linked to the vice-chancellor’s office, the implementation of the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations and the issues around Fahad’s hunger strike. The response of the administration will decide the next phase. As the hunger strike continues and class boycotts spread one question remains. Will AMU authorities open talks with the students or will the campus mobilisation grow stronger.
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