The confidence and gesture of AMU Vice Chancellor, LT. GEN. (RETD.) ZAMEER UDDIN SHAH revealed that he is eager to face challenges to bring in quality education and upgrade moral values in order to take forward the dream of the founder of the university. Undeterred by controversies, resistance and accident, Gen. Shah shared his achievements, future plans and challenges in an exclusive interview with MOHAMMAD NAUSHAD KHAN.
When you joined AMU as Vice Chancellor, what was there in your mind to achieve and how far have you been successful?
Well, the first thing I wanted to achieve was re-establishment of law and order in the university, because prior to my coming, there were many incidents of use of firearms, disorder and I felt that we may not be able to make any progress in the university until we re-established the rule of law and till students got serious about their studies. So, I spent one entire year trying to achieve that and Alhamdulillah I think we have managed. There was no break in studies; no disruption in studies, there was no major upheaval, and no major law and order problems. So, I think we have been successful in the first one year.
As an army man it was expected from you that you would create an atmosphere of discipline and punctuality, have you been able to do that?
Yes, I have decided that the best way to do is to set personal example of punctuality, of dress, of behaviour, and hopefully you know honesty because everybody is watching the Vice Chancellor and from him emanate a lot of messages which go across to the students and to the rest of the community. So it is a very vital and important role, which the Vice Chancellor plays, and I am trying to live up to it.
You have got vast experience. So which one do you think is easier to handle: army men or students?
Army is very easy because you have a chain of command. You get a whole lot of people who you can trust implicitly, and yes physically it may be a problem. But here the challenges are tremendous because there is no really codified chain of command. You have to give a lot of academic freedom for academic pursuits; and you can’t follow the army method. And I am a great believer of democratic norms and I feel that research and education will only flourish in case there is an atmosphere of free exchange, freedom to the students, of course within the limit. You can’t, you know, exceed your limit; you are bound. So I really found this job extremely challenging. But let me say that since it is due to the community I have found it really satisfying.
There is a general perception that a vice chancellor can work effectively if he is able to make good rapport with students and teachers. Have you been able to make good rapport with them?
I think so. As far as the students are concerned, I have their support, I have their confidence because I have not allowed anybody to come in between. Students have access to me. They meet me on the games field, after Friday prayers in the mosque; they meet me when I go to the dining hall and other places. I have also designated a time for them to meet me. Of course, it came under fire because I insisted them to dress in the traditional AMU attire. Why I did that is because some students came to meet me in track suits. Now the VC office I think should have some decorum. You can’t come in a track suit to meet the Vice Chancellor. So I said if you come formally to meet me on Friday please wear your Sherwani. I wear it also every Friday and I cannot allow the decorum to be finished. After all it is our traditional attire of the university. It is a dress.
And of course, I came under fire from women liberals who termed it as a “dictate” you know; thank God they did not call it a “fatwa”. But I felt that girls are expected to dress according to the customs and traditions of AMU. So we are not imposing a dress code. We are just re-stating that for formal occasions the university uniform is a must and that is all over the world. There are uniforms for disciplined people. Majority of our teachers are excellent and well qualified. But, AMUTA, the Teachers Union has always traditionally opposed any measure by the Vice Chancellor, right or wrong. So I tried to get them on board the team. I have been stressing that look we are Team AMU; when you give me your suggestion and I will act on them; if they are justified, they will be granted; if they are not, I won’t. I mean, I will not come under pressure. So there is traditional difference between AMUTA and the Vice Chancellor and I have not been able to bridge so far. But I have been making an attempt and I think we will succeed with time.
What according to you will raise the spirit and expand the horizons of Aligarh movement?
Well, follow Sir Syed’s vision of modern scientific education for the citizens of India, primarily of Millat. I believe in that. This university is so named AMU and it has a Muslim character. It has Muslim ethos, it has a Muslim flavour and although students of other communities are welcome but they must also realise that they have to live in an environment with a Muslim flavour and I am glad to say that such issues like sherwani are non-issues for them. They have supported us. We are really very proud of our students. They have lived together, played together, worked together. So we are one closely interwoven fabric of Indian society and that is what AMU is all about and I must also tell you that ours is one of the few places other than the HARAM where Shias and Sunnis pray together in the same mosque and we should be very proud of that and the message from AMU is that this our country, we are citizens of this country, we have all the rights and we will work for the good of the country.
So far what you have done to bring in quality education and moral values?
Well, see the first thing which I did is that the students should concentrate on their studies. They have to improve their standard of living. You cannot expect a student who is not fed properly to concentrate on studies. So my first aim was to create conditions where students could… I mean on an empty stomach if you try and study, you can’t. So we tried to improve the condition in the hall. We tried to give game facilities to maximum students. We are trying to improve the quality of the food. You know the menu in the AMU remained unchanged since the time of the founder Sir Syed. We have modernised all the kitchens. Steam cooking systems, chapatti makers. Students are having chapattis.
Academics is among one of the spheres which are very important. I mean the university is for academics and research. This is the year I am going to devote totally to academics. We need to revise our syllabi. We’ve already introduced the semester system that was long overdue. We have been able to press on the fact that there will be no allowance for short attendance. This was endemic in Aligarh. Short attendance which was always well, what they say maaf kar diya. No, we will not accept it. From this academic session it is going to be 75% and not an hour less. We improved the syllabi.
Secondly, we are so far behind the west. I recently visited America and I found the state of their classrooms, ah, well they are smart classes. We are still in the blackboard and chalk stage so we need to get over that and my trust is that probably in a year’s time we will have a hundred classrooms with all the modern gadgetry for which we have asked the American Alumni to help and hopefully they will.
Another aspect which needs importance is research and publication. We are encouraging our academic body to concentrate more on research, more on publication of quality journals. Yes! I am not forgetting the fact that a lot of our students and teachers have not ventured out of Aligarh. Now that is something which needs to be corrected. So we have signed a memorandum of understanding with a large number of American universities and we will have a teacher and student exchange programme. Let students from America come to India; we can learn from them. Let our students go and see what’s available in America in terms of modern education.
That will add more value to their potential and knowledge?
Absolutely, and then we have restarted the concept of summer university. We may not be able to afford teachers from abroad like they were earlier but what we have been able to do is to convince a large number of teachers and alumni who are working in academics in the Unites States to visit India for a short period. We are also going to have a winter university. This is for children of our alumni who are thirsting for getting back to their roots. So we will have a short programme in AMU for children from our alumni abroad so we can teach them the tehzib, the language, the culture, of what their parents got. So these are a few of the things which we are trying to do. I will re-iterate a proper academic environment. Proper facilities in the classrooms, modern classrooms, research, and exposing our students to the inferences and to what the academic world is in modern countries, especially in America.
A couple of months from here, AMU will celebrate Sir Syed Day. So do you have any specific plans for the Day?
Well, we are going to celebrate. We have requested his holiness the Syedna to come and be the guest of honour. He has still not accepted but we hope that he will accept. We also intend to give an honorary doctorate to Hamid sahab of Cipla because of his contribution to the cause of medicine and to the cause of education, and also after Sir Syed’s Day we have planned 3-4 days of what we call homecoming week where we are inviting alumni from all over the world to come back to Aligarh and give firm commitment of what they can do for this university. After all, our government funds are limited; so we need to generate resources from outside like the IITs are doing; I mean their alumni are contributing huge amounts. I expect and the alumni have given me an indication that throws the ball in our court and we will do whatever is required. So hopefully on this coming Sir Syed Day we will be able to succeed in that. We hope that we have a large gathering of alumni and we do hope that there are major endowments made by them towards AMU.
In one of your interviews you have said that you are caught up in between insider and outsider and it reveals displeasure and anxiety. Do you regret joining here or are you enjoying?
No! I don’t regret. I am here on a mission and I cannot fail. It is a job which is entrusted to me. See I am the Aligarh Muslim University Vice-Chancellor elected by the court and it is a representation of the Muslim population. So really I am a representative of the people who have elected me for this job. I have no regret. One of the problems I find in AMU which I’m trying to get rid of is this regionalism which has crept in. There are very watertight regional groups who are nudging each other for inference. We have kept away from all these because we feel that we are Indian Muslims above anything else and there is no region, no sect, nothing. We all are Team AMU. So I have got caught up with some people who are not very comfortable with what we are trying to reform in AMU.
What do you want AMU to achieve when you complete your term?
My vision statement is that I want AMU to be No. 1 by 2017.