All about AMU

Mohammed Wajihuddin, a failed student of the Aligarh Muslim University, writes an engaging history about the august institution

By Shevlin Sebastian 

Photos: The cover; Mohamed Wajihuddin; AMU founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)

In the latter half of 1985, Mohammed Wajihuddin came to a depressing conclusion. He had been enrolled in the science stream at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he studied physics, chemistry and biology. But soon, he realised he was not cut out for these subjects or medicine. 

Instead, Wajihuddin developed an interest in history, political science and English. He told his father, a schoolteacher, who lived in a village near Darbhanga (Bihar), he wanted to switch streams. He promised to crack the civil service exams and become a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). But his father told him he had a better chance to get an MBBS degree rather than get into the IAS. This caused an intense frustration in Wajihuddin. 

He bunked classes and neglected his studies. Wajihuddin spent more time in the Maulana Azad Library, where he voraciously read newspapers and magazines. He devoured the writings of journalists Khushwant Singh, MJ Akbar, Kuldip Nayar, and literary giants like Ghalib, Iqbal and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. All this reading enhanced his English vocabulary. Incidentally, Wajihuddin had studied in a Hindi medium school until Class 10. 

Meanwhile, he performed poorly in the exams. This left his father with no option but to take him out of AMU in 1988.

This is what Wajihuddin wrote: ‘I can’t forget the day I reached Aligarh station to board the Magadh Express to Patna. Depressed, ashamed of my poor performance, I cursed myself for not being courageous enough to change my stream from science to arts on my own. Apart from ‘wasting’ three years, I had squandered my father’s hard-earned money. I don’t think I wept as much on the death of my parents as I did on the day I left Aligarh — defeated, desolate, depressed.’ 

But Wajihuddin was lucky. He could get onto the right path, became a journalist and lived his passion. Today, he is a senior assistant editor in the Mumbai edition of the Times of India. 

The trigger to write the book happened when Wajihuddin’s daughters, Nayab, Sara and Zareen, asked him one day, “Daddy, when will you become an author?” 

By coincidence, AMU announced its celebratory celebrations in December, 2020. So, Wajihuddin decided to write a book about the institution. 

The publisher HarperCollins also sensed a lacunae. Swati Chopra, executive editor, said, “The impact of the Aligarh Muslim University on the making of the modern Indian Muslim is unparalleled and largely undocumented. With this book, we hope to fill the gap at a time when this landmark institution celebrates its hundredth year.”

It is a lucid read. We get a clear picture of the founding of the university, and the tremendous role played by the founder, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898).

Sir Syed, during the foundation stone ceremony, said, “This is the first time in the history of Muhammedans in India that a college owes its establishment not to the charity or love of learning of an individual nor to the splendid patronage of a monarch, but to the combined wishes and the united efforts of a whole community.”

As Wajihuddin writes the history, he does not hesitate to deal with controversial matters like the photo of the founder of Pakistan MA Jinnah, which had been hanging on the walls of the student’s union since 1938.

In May, 2018, Aligarh MP Satish Gautam (BJP) asked why this photo continued to hang on the walls.      

Wajihuddin explains that Jinnah had been a member of the university court and, hence, given lifelong membership to the union. They granted this membership before Jinnah’s Muslim League raised the demand for Pakistan. 

The other subjects Wajihuddin tackles include the reasons behind why a large number of madrasa students have been admitted into the university. He probes the glorious past as well as the precarious future. He asks and answers whether the AMU is a bastion of liberalism or a hotbed of Islamism. 

The university had many illustrated vice-chancellors. Among them was Dr Zakir Hussain, the former President of India. He exhorted the students to work hard. The struggle to ensure the AMU remains an important university is never-ending and energy-sapping. 

Dr. Hussain illustrated this with a pithy anecdote. 

Once an American millionaire reached Oxford and appreciated a lawn. The millionaire asked, “How much does it cost to create such a lawn?” 

The gardener replied, “Sir, it doesn’t cost much. Just a few dollars. I believe you have the land. Just pave it a little and plant the grass in it. When the grass grows a little, run a roller on it. And keep doing that for around five hundred years. You will get a similar lawn.” 

Within days of its release, the book has received a thumbs up from readers. It is in 10th place in Amazon's bestsellers’ list in the Colonialism & Imperialism History category. Wajihuddin is closing in on eminent writer William Dalrymple’s ‘The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence and Pillage of an Empire’ which is in 6th place.

This is remarkable for a debut author.