AMU row resolved as BJP relents, varsity to hold seminar on Raja

ALIGARH: Ending a stand-off, BJP today gave up its plans to organise the birth anniversary celebration of Raja Mahendra Pratap at the campus of AMU, which had warned of a communal flagration, after the varsity announced that it will hold a seminar to mark his contribution.

BJP MP from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, said the party has taken the decision to 'avoid' any confrontation over the matter, after the Vice-Chancellor announced to hold a special seminar to mark contributions of the 'valiant soldier' in the nation building.

"We have been assured that there will be no gathering at the University gate on December 1 on the occasion of the 128th anniversary of Raja Mahendra Pratap," AMU Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen (rtd) Zameer Uddin Shah said in a statement today. "We have been given to understand by the concerned groups that the anniversary celebrations, as per past traditions, will be held at the Raja Mahendra Pratap park. We are more than happy on this development," he added.

The V-C said that a seminar to mark the contributions of Raja Mahendra will be held shortly. Shah said,"As a special tribute to this valiant soldier, we will shortly be holding a seminar to mark his contributions for the cause of nation building. The date of this seminar will shortly be announced."

The V-C said,"I have no hesitation to state that Raja Mahendra Pratap remains one of the unsung heroes of India's freedom movement and his role deserves to be remembered for posterity." "The fact that he was an alumnus of our University and his family was close to the founding fathers of this institution is a matter of pride for us."

"His lead role along with that with some of the leading Muslim clerics of that era like Maulana Mahmoodul Hasan and Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi in what is remembered as the 'Silk Letter Movement', deserves a very high place in the history of freedom movement of India," he added.

BJP MP from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, who is reported to have exchanged letters with AMU yesterday, has welcomed the Vice Chancellor's announcement regarding the holding of above seminar. "In the wake of V-C's announcement, we have decided not to hold any celebrations inside the University campus but will be doing so at another place to avoid any confrontation on the matter," Gautam told newspersons.

The BJP leaders had earlier planned to celebrate the birth anniversary of Pratap, a freedom fighter and one of the land donors to the AMU campus, in front of the main gate of the campus on December 1.