AMU: Habitat of liberal thinking

Not long ago, I attended a seminar organised by The Sunday Indian in the Aligarh Muslim University. It was, indeed, a remarkable platform where the intellectual class, particularly that of the Muslim society, expressed their views about role of university in development of Indai as a nation.

Truly speaking, main purpose of my visit was to see the campus that has cherished the great values of Hakim Ajmal Khan, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Irfan Habib and many other distinguished luminaries.

Aligarh Muslim University is a result of relentless effort of the 18th-century Muslim intellectual, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who was highly inspired by the success of Banaras Hindu University. The essence of AMU lies in its Tehjeeb which has been a hallmark of the university over the years. It even goes to extreme when it comes to following etiquettes of the bygone era.

There was a time when AMU was very traditional in nature, and boys and girls used to sit separately. But, what I observed during my visit is a welcome change from the past. Boys and girls walk inside the campus like students of any other university. I also did not see any girl in Burkha.

Syed Ahmed Khan was a true visionary of his era. He could feel the stagnation faced by Muslims in the country. He also knew that education is the only thing that can change the most of the problems Muslims face in this country. Sir Syed was truly liberal and promoted excellence in pedagogy.

One of the most important things about the university is Aligarh Tehreek. The beauty of the system was the flexibility it provided according to the changing times. Initially, it was decided that Tehreek will remain free from the politics, but when Mahatma Gandhi called the nation, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, Dr. Syeed Mehmood who was very much part of Tehreek, started Khilafiat movement.

It is a fact that Aligarh Muslim University has always provided open platform for free expression. Irfaan Habib openly spread Marxist ideology in the campus and nobody raised a finger against him. And, this is where it greatly differs from other campuses of its times.