But this GBM could not discuss the issue, because not enough number (there were only 11 in all out of around 2500 teachers, whose salaries are paid on national subsidy, of them more than 200 are from Bihar including few from the flood affected districts of eastern Bihar) of teachers turned up, resulting into absence of the quorum, the mandatory technical requirement. Almost none of the members of the executive of the AMUTA, none of the former and present members (teachers’ constituency) of the Executive Council (EC) of AMU, none of the “leaders” (pursuing academics/politics in/with various names/symbols including the identities/ideologies like Biharis, Muslims/Islam, Left Progressivism, Federalism, Social Justice, Minority Rights, Human Rights etc etc) came to attend the meeting. It raises several questions about the leadership of the teaching community in AMU. Does not it reveal that all these “leaders” are absolutely insensitive to human tragedies, for whom probably the Sixth Pay Report is a bigger priority than the enormous human sufferings.

They consciously chose not to sensitize and mobilize the campus on the issue of such a great human crises. Too many leaders speak in verbose Urdu and English at the Teaching Staff Club of AMU in several meetings on ‘trivial’ issues of the campus, all these preferred not to attend this meeting. Did they need an Iftaar Party to discuss the human tragedy? Let it be added that with offers of too many helps from too many corners, rather than money, the bigger problem is proper, honest and transparent distribution of the relief packages. The greater requirement is pressure of civil society on the provincial and union governments/ bureaucracy to rescue the ravaged/besieged people; to mount pressure on the governments to do the needful for permanent solution of the recurrent flood problems. Of course, one day salary of the AMU teachers, consisting of few lakhs of rupees are just nothing for the sufferers, and by now, money is a lesser problem, thanks to generous donations from the states/private sectors and individuals. The greater requirement is pressure of civil society, a gesture of humanism… The “leaders” of the AMU teachers callously refused to demonstrate even that symbolic gesture. Is it the culture (tehzeeb wa tamaddun) of Aligarians, they are/were so proud of. I need not add that a large number of universities of India have not only contributed their one day salaries but they have also sent their students (particularly of Social Work, Journalism, Medical science etc) to undertake and monitor the relief works. And they did it much earlier than the “historic”, muhazzab AMU. Biggest majority of the victims happen to be from weaker sections of the society consisting of Muslims, Dalits and backward castes. If at all a section of the AMU thinks parochially, and in terms of Minority, then this tragedy put greater responsibility on AMU. But the conscience of even this section (if any) did not prick. They assemble with fervour when there is a meeting to oppose or broker with the AMU administration.