Demand raised for SC/ST reservation at AMU

Students under the banner of the action committee for reservation staged a protest near the AMU circle, demanding the implementation of quotas for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and other backward classes at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Alongside the protest, a memorandum addressing these demands was submitted to the Prime Minister through local authorities.

The demonstrators, comprising students from various colleges and supported by leaders from right-wing organisations and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), criticised the university administration for not complying with constitutional provisions on reservation.

Student leader Baldev Chaudhary, a former state secretary for Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), disclosed that a meeting on November 14 finalised the plan for the march. “We decided to march towards AMU to press our demand for reservations and ensure our voices are heard,” he said.The memorandum, addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was handed over to additional city magistrate (ACM) Sanjay Mishra and included a detailed charter of demands.

The issue of reservations at AMU has been a long-standing controversy. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has previously criticised the university for not extending reservation benefits to marginalised communities in its admissions and employment policies.