Aligarh Muslim University has been a minority institution from beginning: Owaisi

NEW DELHI: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said that the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has from the beginning been a minority institution that has contributed to India's development. His comments come a day after the Union government told the Supreme Court that AMU cannot be a minority institution given its "national character" during the hearing of the case about the dispute over the institute's minority status.

The Centre said AMU is not, and cannot, be a university of any particular religion or religious denomination as any university which has been declared an institution of national importance cannot be a minority institution. In his written submissions filed before the apex court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the university, founded in 1875, has always been an institution of national importance, even in the pre-independence era.

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Reacting to it, the Hyderabad MP in a post on 'X' said: "The Modi govt is opposing AMU’s minority status saying that it is a "national institution." Article 30 of the Constitution protects any institution that is established and administered by minorities. From the very beginning, AMU has been a minority institution that has contributed to India’s development”. Owaisi further said: "Modi govt’s hatred against Muslims is for everyone to see. It cannot tolerate Muslims getting higher education & participating in the mainstream."