[The VC, understandably, denies the comment attributed to him that there would be four times more boys if girls are allowed access to the Maulana Azad Library.
What does he acknowledge? He acknowledges that the (undergrad) students of the Abdullah Women's College are not allowed in the Library. He acknowledges that there is a longstanding demand from the students of the Women's College that they (also) be allowed in the subject library. He has acknowledged that the demand was repeated and once again placed before him when he visited the College (on November 10th?). He has also acknowledged that he has turned down the demand outright. He has argued that the list of all the books in the Maulana Azad Library is available online and hence the girl students can place order online and obtain the books ordered even without visiting the Library. It's really striking that it it never crossed his mind that the same argument would equally apply in case of the male students as well. He has also talked of threats to security of the girls on the way to the library from their college. The subject college, the library and the path connecting the two are all, reportedly, situated within the AMU premises. Being the administrative head of the AMU, the VC is obviously responsible for ensuring security within the AMU premises. The above is of course not meant to to certify that the motivations of the media in focussing on the issue, in the manner it has done, or that of the Union Government are all aboveboard. But that's a separate issue.] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Misquoted-on-library-access-to-girls-AMU-V-C/articleshow/45112842.cms Misquoted on library access to girls: AMU V-C Arunav Sinha,TNN | Nov 11, 2014, 07.58 PM IST LUCKNOW: Rubbishing the statement attributed to him vis-a-vis access of girls to AMU's Maulana Azad Library, vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Lieutenant General (retired) Zameer Uddin Shah on Tuesday clarified to TOI that it is the "issue of space", which is virtually restricting the entry of girls to the university's library. Speaking to TOI, on the sidelines of the convocation of Integral University, Lt Gen Shah, said, "It is not that I had said that there is no space for you (girls). We do permit girls in the libraries." He also admitted that undergraduate girls cannot be accommodated in the Maulana Azad Library, primarily due to 'paucity of space'. "With advent of online catalogues in our libraries, any student (of the women's college) can order any book from the Maulana Azad Library, and on the next day, the book is delivered to the student," the AMU vice-chancellor said, and added that almost all the books of the Maulana Azad Library are available online, and if any book is unavailable, it is made available to the student in a couple of days. He also informed the Aligarh Muslim University has modernised its library at the cost of Rs 10 lakh using special grants. "The only constraint we have is that of space. Apart from this, there is other issue including disciplinary," Lt General Shah said, and added that on Monday, I met the students, and have assured them that they would face no problems, and all their grievances would be looked into. The V-C also mentioned that this demand of the students' union was raised last year as well. When asked, whether the university is contemplating to initiate any action against those who raised the demand, the AMU V-C, said, "It was a legitimate demand, and there is absolutely no breach or violation of discipline on the campus, and hence there is no need to initiate any disciplinary step against those who had raised the demand." On Monday, the V-C had reportedly turned down the demand of students of Women's College, Aligarh Muslim University, for access to the varsity's Maulana Azad Library and said there would be "four times more boys" in the library if girls were allowed in. Women's College principal Naima Gulrez, echoed the V-C's views. Addressing the audience on Monday during the oath-taking ceremony of the new students' union, she said, "We understand the demand for access to the library. But have you girls ever seen the library? It is jam-packed with boys. If girls too were to be present in it, the discipline issue might crop up." Librarian Amjad Ali of the Maulana Azad Library said, "If the Women's College library demands books, we send them instantly. The purpose is solved without the students coming here." Gulfiza Khan, president of the Women's College students' union, had said, "We are students of Aligarh Muslim University. We, too, should have the benefit of accessing the Maulana Azad Library. The library in the Women's College is not enough. If space is a problem, we can just issue books and not sit in the library." Earlier also students' unions had demanded access to Maulana Azad Library, located within AMU and 3 kilometres from the Women's College. The Women's College was established in 1906 and the Maulana Azad Library was set up decades later. Students of the Women's College were never given membership of the library, which can accommodate 1,300 readers at a time. The library also has 12 seats reserved for women students of AMU. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
