On the night of 15 December 2019, the atmosphere of the university was violently disrupted as the sound of exploding tear gas shells and stun grenades reverberated through the campus, signaling the onset of an unprecedented police crackdown. The peaceful protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and police brutality on the protesting students of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia was turned into complete chaos by the Uttar Pradesh Police, who entered the campus by breaking the main gate (Bab-e-Syed) of Aligarh Muslim University and began a lethal attack on students. Many were mercilessly beaten, a couple of hostel rooms in Aftab Hall were almost set ablaze, dozens were arrested and subjected to custodial torture, and the next morning all residents of the university hostels were ordered to leave immediately[1].
Today, almost six years later, the AMU administration has once again allowed a crackdown on students—this time with the proctorial team shamelessly guiding the UP Police to enter and disrupt a peaceful student protest, primarily against a sudden and unprecedented fee hike in different courses of the university. AMU is an institution that provides quality education at minimal cost, which is why students from all backgrounds can afford to study here. Increasing fees without considering the financial circumstances of those who need AMU the most is a betrayal of the university’s cause and the vision of its founders.
There are parallel institutions in Delhi and elsewhere, but due to their high costs, students from humble financial backgrounds cannot afford them. AMU accommodates around 30,000 students in its residential facilities. If such dictates continue, the doors of AMU will remain open only for a small section of the community with resources to access any institute, while the vulnerable section of society will find them firmly closed. The ongoing agitation is not only for the current students but also to safeguard the essence of the institution—to ensure it accommodates everyone who aspires to be part of it. Instead of negotiating with the students at the table and considering their genuine demands, the AMU administration has resorted to the way of an insecure dictator—suppressing voices with force.
The response of the university administration has been contradictory. The Public Relations Officer dismissed the issue as a non-event, claiming that fees had only been increased by 15–20%, and that too after several years[2]. In contrast, the Proctor, Mr. Mohd Waseem, stated that the hike was merely ₹1,500 to ₹2,000[3]. Interestingly, both statements are misleading. The actual figures are far higher.
For instance, the fees for M.Sc., B.Sc. B.Ed. (Cont.), B.Tech. (Cont.), and M.C.A. (Cont.) have risen by 40–50%, while B.Sc., B.Com., BUMS (Cont.), Ph.D. (Cont.), L.L.M., and B.Lib. have seen an increase of 30–40%. Overall, the fee hike has reached as much as 61%. This is oppressive for an institution like AMU. These figures not only reveal the gravity of the ongoing issue but also expose the university administration’s modus operandi: first taking unjust steps against the interests of the university, then concealing facts and issuing misleading figures and statements.
The recent crackdown on protesting students proves that what happened in December 2019 was not by chance—it was a strategically unprecedented experiment by the AMU administration, in connivance with the UP Police and those who control it, to suppress every kind of dissent arising within the university. Since then, the administration’s approach has been to dismantle every space for protest, dissent, or even discourse. As part of this same plan, the AMU Literary Festival 2022, conducted by the University Debating and Literary Club, was called off by the administration when the guest speakers were already on campus—without any reason or explanation given. Since then, the event, which was held annually, has not been allowed.
Whenever wrongdoing takes place anywhere in the country, university students have always considered it their responsibility to raise their voices against it. This is something the administration does not want, as they prefer to oblige those in power for several reasons, including the positions they wish to hold after their tenure ends. Mr. Tariq Mansoor, former Vice Chancellor of AMU, in whose tenure the police were allowed to attack the university and its students, was nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council after his retirement. It is hard to believe that the sanctity of the institution, the careers of students, and the safety of protesting female students were put at risk just to become an MLC. As Parveen Shakir aptly put it, “Baat toh sach hai, magar baat hai ruswayi ki.”
For more than five years now, the AMU Proctor and a few of his close deputies have belonged to the Faculty of Law. They are teachers of the Constitution, personal laws, and international law—professors who never tire of speaking about human rights, personal liberty, and freedom of speech in the classroom. Yet in the field, these same individuals have been seen in photos and videos leading the police inside the campus and attacking students who were offering Friday prayers at a protest site within the campus. A few of them are even said to have questioned the very character of female protesting students for standing up to protect the essence of the institution. Ironically, one can be mesmerised by their hour-long speeches on women’s rights on International Women’s Day every year, yet in practice they have no hesitation in using foul language or even physical force.
Another pressing demand of the students is the restoration of the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union (AMUSU). It has been over six years since the last AMUSU elections were held, which is a direct violation of the Lyngdoh Committee’s recommendations mandating that student union elections be conducted annually. Since 2018, the AMU administration has systematically avoided holding elections to effectively silence formal student representation. Historically, the AMUSU has played a pivotal role in challenging injustices, whether committed by the university administration or the government. The movement against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, stands as a clear example of how organised student representation can mobilise resistance against unjust laws. It is precisely this ability to amplify collective student voices that the administration appears determined to suppress.
University campuses are meant to be spaces where we learn, unlearn, and learn again. AMU, founded with the vision of educating Muslims, has long been an institution of hope—a place where even the most vulnerable in India dare to dream. It was created for this very purpose. But if the irresponsible actions of the university administration are allowed to pass without scrutiny, this institution will increasingly serve only those in power and those with resources, while the financially vulnerable—who form the majority of the community—will be pushed further into darkness.
Universities are also spaces where we learn to dissent, to challenge injustice, and to raise our voices for what is right. If these spaces are eroded—whether through direct force, as seen in AMU, JMI, JNU, and other campuses, or through a systematic reshaping of classrooms and curriculum to create a generation driven solely by self-interest and material gain—then we risk losing not just the purpose of these institutions, but the moral fabric of society itself. In such a world, no one will speak for the weak against the strong; no one will question the wrong to uphold the right.
For a just society—or at least one where wrongdoers are questioned—the survival of free, critical, and inclusive university spaces is not just important, it is essential. Not only must these free and democratic campuses continue to exist, but they must also be made accessible to all. For that to happen, the protest of AMU students must succeed. Those who enable acts like the recent crackdown should be held accountable so that the academic futures of students are never jeopardised again. No one deserves to be punished for standing against injustice—especially in a campus like AMU, whose very existence is itself a statement of conscience and dignity.
The author is a law graduate from Aligarh Muslim University, currently practicing at Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. He could be reached at sayedsajidali6@gmail.
[1] https://caravanmagazine.in/politics/aligarh-muslim-university-students-union-president
[2] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1062557786029352&set=a.406445621640575
[3] https://www.facebook.com/proamuofficial/videos/amu-proctor-prof-mohd-wasim-ali-statement-on-fee-hike-issue/1738642700352297/
