Hey Kishore, I am glad you asked for this for I am a product of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. And like every Aligarian I just love the place. I have come to respect it more after having left the institution in 1997. AMU is History. For good. For worse.
Aligarh Movement was started by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan way back in 1850s. The idea was spreading modern education specially amongst Muslims and Indians at large. He faced stiff resistance from both Hindus as well as Muslims. The Hindus felt the tilt was towards Muslims, while the latter felt this ’Experimentation’ was Unislamic. Sir Syed laid the foundation by initiating with Mohammaden Anglo Oriental College in 1875. It later transformed into Aligarh Muslim University in 1920.
Aligarh has always been a unique example of the marriage of Modernity and Tradition. Aligarh is the reason why Muslims all over the world are given a remote chance of growing academically. For it inspired education institutions on the similar lines. The allegation that it has been only Pro-Muslims is absolutely baseless. For I am a live witness to the fact as to how we used to take special care of our Hindu friends who mingled naturally with no prejudices attached. The Engineering faculty a couple of years ago presented gold medals to ten deserving students, eight of whom were Non-Muslims.
The History faculty of AMU is world famous. Professor Irfan Habib, Professor Nizami and Professor Shirin Moosvi are known the world over. And trust me it is no exaggeration. The Medicine faculty is rated highly. And faculty of humanities has given some stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Akhtar, Sardar Jafri and many more.
There is a painful flip side as well, which I wouldn’t want to ignore. Infact, AMU is mostly in news for all the wrong reasons. The fact that it is a major Muslim institution, there are several vested interests out to tarnish the image. The sad part is that many of them are Aligarians. The politics is huge. The system is such that it makes it difficult for any of the VC to function without hiccups. It is what we say in local parlance as ’Bhed Chaal’.
There have been instances of vandalism. And real gruesome ones for that matter. Inspite of it all, the best part about Aligarh is the cultural training, a sense of brotherhood, a respect for seniors, etiquettes and a certain decorum which one won’t find almost anywhere else. And trust me guys for it remains with you forever. That’s the USP. And that’s the reason an Aligarian always does well no matter where he is. Anywhere in the world.
Algarh Muslim University - A dream of a visionary!!