The university’s stellar academic achievements mean little if its students cannot exercise their basic rights without fear
ALIGARH Muslim University (AMU), once a symbol of hope, knowledge, and empowerment for the poor and marginalised sections of Indian society, particularly Muslims, now faces an appalling contradiction. What was once a sanctuary of learning, a beacon of affordable, quality education, and a cradle of leadership for the marginalised Muslim community has become a battleground of injustice, oppression, and broken promises.
Despite the worrying decline in its traditional culture, thanks to the indifference of Muslim elites, especially its alumni, the iconic institution is still a vital lifeline for countless talented young Muslim men and women from economically weak backgrounds, dreaming of a better future through education in a safe and culturally supportive environment. For these young men and women, often coming from families struggling against staggering financial hardships, AMU represents a rare opportunity: a chance to rise, to excel, and to make a mark in a society riddled with inequality. The university has offered them affordable education, safe accommodation, and an atmosphere where hope could flourish. There is no doubt that for such families, no other college or university in India has matched the blend of quality and accessibility that AMU provides.
Yet, even as the rest of the nation suffers under soaring inflation and the ruthless commercialisation of education, with private and government institutions alike squeezing lakhs of rupees out of students for often substandard teaching, AMU had, for a long time, stood tall as a symbol of resistance to this trend. The university’s founder, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, envisioned an institution where merit would prevail over money and knowledge would be accessible to all. For decades, AMU lived up to this vision, proudly maintaining low fees and prioritising the holistic development of its students.
In a recent survey conducted on 7 August 2025 by India Todayand Marketing and Development Research Associates, AMU was ranked as the best college and university in the country. This accolade, reflecting strong infrastructure, committed teaching, research innovation, and social responsibility, is no small feat. Various colleges and departments within AMU, such as the Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, the Department of Architecture, Dr Ziauddin Ahmad Dental College, the Faculty of Law, and the Department of Mass Communication, were ranked at the top among their peers for providing high-quality education at affordable fees.
However, while these achievements paint a glowing picture of academic success and institutional excellence, a dark and bitter reality festers beneath the surface, a reality largely ignored by celebratory headlines and political endorsements.
In the very heart of this hallowed institution, a culture of oppression, sycophancy and nepotism now thrives. Recent months have witnessed a wave of student protests against the fee hike that strike at the very core of AMU’s promise of affordable education. These protests, centred at the historic Bab-e Syed, have been met not with dialogue or understanding, but with brutal repression. Police, in the presence of the university administration and proctors, subjected protesting students to violence and intimidation. The nation watched in horror as those entrusted with protecting the future intellectuals and leaders of society chose to suppress them instead.
The complicity of the AMU management in this grave injustice is both shameful and alarming. One must ask: Why are these situations allowed to arise? Who truly listens to the grievances of the students? When the highest authorities turn a blind eye to legitimate demands, the students’ only recourse is to raise their voices in protest, yet even this fundamental democratic right is being stifled with force.
But the repression extends far beyond police brutality. Historically, AMU, along with institutions like Jamia Millia Islamia, was renowned for its vibrant student unions that nurtured Muslim leadership, social consciousness, and political activism. From these platforms emerged leaders who have shaped the country’s socio-political landscape and earned respected positions nationally and internationally.
Today, these very unions are shackled. The university administration and external authorities have effectively banned student elections for years. The student voice is silenced, replaced by a manufactured leadership that echoes government policies and suppresses dissent. This deliberate erosion of student democracy is a dagger aimed straight at the heart of AMU’s spirit.
How long can the soul of an institution survive when its lifeblood, the freedom to organise, debate, and demand justice, is strangled?
The silence imposed on AMU’s student body is deafening. It signals a chilling message: conformity over courage, obedience over activism. The government-backed appointees and the university officials complicit in this suppression are systematically dismantling the rich tradition of leadership and resistance that has defined AMU for over a century.
It is no coincidence that while AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia have no student unions, other universities like Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University continue to hold annual student elections and witness vibrant student political activity. The contrast is stark and telling.
The students of AMU are not merely protesting against fee hikes; they are fighting for their right to be heard, to be represented, and to safeguard the democratic ethos of an institution that once stood as a fortress against oppression. Their struggle is against a system that values political compliance over academic freedom and economic exploitation over educational equity.
This is not just about fees or elections. This is about the soul of Aligarh Muslim University, a soul that is being trampled by those who fear a free, vocal, and empowered student body.
The oppression at AMU is a microcosm of a larger assault on Muslim educational institutions and minorities’ rights in the country. It reflects a dangerous trend where education is commodified, dissent is criminalised, and community voices are muted under the guise of ‘law and order.’
The proud legacy of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and generations of AMU alumni who have contributed to India’s progress is at risk of being erased. The university’s stellar academic achievements mean little if its students cannot exercise their basic rights without fear.
It is time for the university management, the government, and civil society to stop celebrating superficial rankings and start addressing the deep, rooted injustices plaguing AMU.
If AMU continues on this path, it will cease to be a university of knowledge and become a prison of oppression, a place where fear, not freedom, defines the student experience.
To the students still fighting at Bab-e Syed and across the campus: your voices matter. Your struggle is not in vain. History will remember those who stood up against injustice and fought to preserve the sanctity of education.
To the authorities: you cannot silence the spirit of AMU. You cannot snuff out the dreams of thousands who rely on this institution to break the chains of poverty and discrimination.
AMU must reclaim its rightful place, not just as a centre of academic excellence, but as a fortress of justice, equality, and freedom.
Let this be a call to action, not just for the students of AMU, but for all who believe in the transformative power of education and the inviolable rights of those who seek it.
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Mohammad Alamullah is UK-based author and journalist. He did his PhD from Dr KR Narayanan Centre for Dalit and Minority Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia and has written two books, Muslim Majlis Mushawarat: Ek Khususi Tareekh and Kuch Din Iran Mein. The views expressed here are author’s personal.
