Chaos during meeting in which union’s budget was to be passed, AMUSU president unhappy

By Sharjeel Usmani | Oct 24, 2016

AMU Students' Union Hall

No question was ever considered and the meeting soon changed into a quarrel that seemed happening between goons on the distribution of some extorted money

The newly formed students’ union of Aligarh Muslim University (AMUSU), after its installation ceremony on 13th of October, was all set to function as an official union on the campus. President Faizul Hasan Khan along with Vice-President Nadeem Ansari and Secretary Nabeel Usmani had to face challenges in terms of protests on the very first week of their tenure.

The union had their first challenge to resolve the ongoing protest launched by the students who were denied admissions in Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) course and they allegedly charged the university administration of maintaining uncertainty in Ph.D. admissions. The issue –after the intervention of Students' Union and other student leaders, was sorted out just few hours before Prof. Ved Prakash, the chairman of University Grants Commission was to reach campus to attend a function. However, no sooner was this issue resolved that the union was welcomed with another ‘one-of-its-kind’ challenge as the girls of Indira Gandhi Hall went on strike demanding ‘Azaadi’ from their provost. After two days of protest and of course the intervention of the union, the issue resolved.

After these two incidences, people started believing that the present union would meet all their expectations and would prove one of the best students' unions in varsity’s history.

“Faizul Hasan, the president, had posted his contact numbers, email address and other details on his Facebook wall so that we could reach him anytime and Nadeem, the vice-president, in his speech at the installation ceremony shouted his contact number and ensured everybody that he’d be there to help any student in just a call. This is the first time, I am seeing this type of enthusiasm for the union”, said Modabbir, a student of Management.

Nevertheless, two days ago, the union endorsed a pamphlet, signed by Secretary Nabeel Usmani, reading the proposed budget of students’ union, in each room of the campus with an invitation to a ‘General Body Meeting’ to discuss the budget on October 24.

I too went to attend the meeting and reached the venue about half-an-hour earlier to the given time. Since, this was the first time I was visiting the Students’ Union Hall buiding, I decided to discover the huge building which earlier was called Siddon’s Union Club. The main hall of the building –the place where the meeting was supposed to be held, as made on lines of Oxford and Cambridge, to my astonishment, was almost similar to that of Oxford’s union hall from inside. The Hall, with leather-coated British-era wooden chairs on both sides leaving a path in between with a stage in front with a gallery on the first floor, was exactly the same I had watched Mehdi Hasan, the Al Jazeera reporter debating in, on YouTube obviously.

All this was fascinating. I remember, when the current president of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Mohit K Pandey visited AMU last year, he was so fascinated seeing the buildings of Sir Syed (South). He said, “I am feeling like I’m walking somewhere in Red Fort’s extension’! That is the class of AMU’s heritage.

The meeting started about fifteen minutes later to the given time. The Chairs along with the cabinet members (of whom, few were absent) were seated at the stage. There were about a hundred people in the hall. Most of them were familiar faces –the ones who had campaigned and supported the present union in their elections. The presence of students was poor. A few ex-students and suspended students were also to be seen in the building.

The meeting started and elected secretary Nabeel Usmani formally invited the elected President Faizul Hasan to initiate the discussion. President Hasan, welcomed the audience and gave a brief introduction about the budget that was to be passed. Secretary Nabeel Usmani was then called again to precede the meeting. He started with the first point mentioned in the proposed budget that was ‘Office Contingency Fund’ worth Rs. 70,000 to which a gentleman tried to question the speaker. However, much to my surprise people from every corner of the started shouting ‘Passed’ and Nabeel Usmani, the secretary of AMU students’ union passed that budget. The person who tried to question remained unheard and unnoticed. Soon rest of the points mentioned in the proposed budget were ‘passed’ in the same way and within a few minutes, the people (the familiar faces) left their seats to stand in front of the stage creating hooliganism and chaos around. Now, nothing proposed thing was ever heard and the amount was astonishingly increased according to the choice of the hooligans.

Later, the secretary didn’t even bother to question the audience but the people standing in front of the stage shouting were asked about the budget. The secretary didn’t even bother to look around other people who were attending the meeting. It all seemed to me as if goons were quarreling over some extorted money!

“How can one pass or discuss a budget without any explanation of the proposed plan of expenditure. In the same spirit, those who were asking for an increase or decrease should have been given and/or asked to explain why? Not because anyone's intention is being doubted but to ensure that a meaningful discussion can take place on our budget. How does the union plan to conduct debates every week under the Siddons debating club if it doesn't promote debate for passing the budget”, asked Wajahat Jilani, the secretary of University Literary and Debating Club of AMU. Soon people started leaving the hall leaving the meeting.

“Everything was pre-planned and decided. That General Body Meeting was just a formality and nothing else”, said Kamran, who left the meeting mid-way.

However, I have been informed from some unconfirmed sources that AMUSU president Faizul Hasan was unhappy with the meeting and his supporters boycotted the meeting.