mohammad allam
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End of the academician vice-chancellorship era at A.M.U. - 2007/05/15 11:47
When we see a structure of an institution that how strong is this , the best way is to see how the relation among the components are working? .The more close working of the components ,the more strong the building will be. The more distance of the components the more weak the building will be. This is more true in case of an institution of repute like Aligarh Muslim University. The strength and the mission of Aligarh movement was based on the close relation of the students , teachers and administration based on feudalistic seniority . The head of administration and teacher were considered as the head of Aligarh family. while the whole responsibility to look after the different aspects were in the hands of elders of the house ,the senior who succeeded later to run the university. In Aligarh, the seniority was not an element of passing few years by a student but it was the institution which nit the different elements of teaching, administrative units .It was an institution which facilitated the working of the administration and training of the new one according to the aims of the mission of Aligarh movement. It was the pivotal point of Aligarh culture, the culture which accumulate the different aspects of life, ranging from the language, to dinning ,dressing, manner and the close relation with the god .It was the centre which strengthened the relation between Islamic tenents and the learning and making the goal of the founder to make realize a muslim in whose hands are the holy quran and science and blending of this will bring he Islamic renaissance .Being an academic institution the Aligarh is like just another institution of repute but in term of culture it is unique among the institutions. it was Aligarh cultutre that force the muslim community to send the daughters and sons to aligarh to get training of being a good muslim and a learned one. The whole muslim university life from hostel to registrar, provost to department was based on mutual respect on seniority and love of being a family members .The minority character of the institution was safe in the hand s of the seniority of the student .Protecting the right of the muslim community on national level was also in the hands of the senior controlled student union. The whole problem was solved on micro level without the wasting of the energy of the marco level decision making force of the institution. This was the institution of seniority that provide the solid ground to academician to grace the position of vice-chancellorship of the university. The old institution was working in balancing of the university hostel to academic life while vice chancellor and his team work was to work for the betterment of the university. The decision making process was autonomous in decentralizing process and strong unit of vice chancellorship facilitated the smooth working of the institution.
The appointment of the administrative vice-chancellor brought the paralyzing of the functioning of the different components of the institution. The vice- chancellorship of Mr. Syed Hamid brought the first break in the old system of institution into trouble .when the decentralization process of decision making was centralized according to the nature of an administrator .In the public dealing administrative structure, centralization is the routine where in democratic government the decision implementation is concentrated in the hands of the non democratic force. In term of an institution the decentralization process cannot be marginalized when the whole administrative process is based on the power sharing among the component of different units ranging from provost office ,department student union to vice- chancellor office. The vice-chancellorship of Mr syed Hamid brought the end of the decentralized process decision making of the institution, by founding of the centralize process and ended the democratic process of the institution where the process of decision making can be start from lower or higher .Mr syed Hamid era started a period of strong centralized decision making in the university and facilitate the need of a strong administrator and thus created an all time need for a beaurocratic person on the post of vice chancellorship. This is the reason that on the post of vice-chancellor ship of the institution after syed Haimd the beauracratic vice- chancellor succeeded and was successful while academician vice-chancellor failed miserably.
The second period of destruction of Aligarh Muslim university started with the appointment of another beauracratic vice- chancellor Mr Mahmoodur Rahman. His period can be called the end of Aligarh culture and end of institution(institution of seniority) which protected the university from the devil eyes, even during the most crisis period of the university, the partition of the nation. Mr Mahmoodur Rahman dealing with student union and the destroying the institution of seniority can be compare with the destroying the identity of Aligarh muslim university and the aim of the institution and he founder sir syed Ahmad khan to train students for the community. The love and cooperation and the role of senior that played in the functioning of the university was completely marginalized and centralized process was penetrated in every walk of life of the university like Aurangzeb who destroyed all the decentralized power to facilitate his unchallenged central authority .But when he died the same centralized power destroyed the Mughal empire. All the senior who were not working as a guardian of the Aligarh tradition but also to train the young one in moral and study was thrown out like garbage. The very purpose of the cooperation , self respect and dignity that are foundation of an instiuiton were sacrificed in the name of competition and modernity. which led the internal crisis in the university . Other hand he failed to give a substitute of institution of seniority .The seniority that was not a status of passing a few years but a powerful unit to maintain discipline both in the hostel and department was destroyed. The responsibility to run the institution was transferred in the few hands and the new master of centralized process where there were lacking will power. He even did not give second thought that an institution that founded to train the young one on the line of he noble tradition deserve the transition period to assimilate the noble goal of aims with the demand of modernity. The period of modernity that was started by Mr Mahmoodur Rahman needs the transition period and this period needed the efficient substitute administration and well nit support from all units. But inability of vice-chancellor to provide a substitute administrative mechanism in new environment of university and democratic power of decision making led the university to go in long period of crisis which erupt every time under succeeding vice chancellor of Mahmoodur Rahman. What elements of new era he introduced that best suit the personal interest of every unit of the university but not the collective interest of the community. His introduction of selection process in professional courses with out interview was the negligence of need of globalization where every branch of learning need s the strong communication skill among the students. His certain decision led the university to look for the need of reservation policy to maintain minority character of the university which previously well looked by the institution of seniority.
In long run what Mr syed Hamid initiated ,Mr Mahmoodur Rahman completed and shut the door of vice _chancellorship to academician and scarified the interest of the community and institution.
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