New Delhi: On Monday i.e. March 15, 2010, nearly 2500 professors and administrative staff of Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University gathered at the Jantar Mantar, to press their demand for recognition of the University as a Muslim minority educational institution. There was also stone's throw from Parliament House in New Delhi area, for the same. The minority status tag will allow 50 percent reservation for Muslims, but no quota for any other category. As per sources, the teachers' march also saw the participation of MPs like Kamal Akhtar of the Samajwadi Party and Ahmad Saeed Maleehabadi, a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal.
N.U. Khan, President of the Jamia Teachers' Association, said that this is another effort to press the government to recognize Jamia Millia Islamia as a Muslim minority educational institution in clear terms. He also added that reserving 50 percent seats for Muslims will leave the rest 50 percent for general category. Moreover, implementation of this reservation will do away with other types of reservations for the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC). Further, he mentioned that colleges like Khalsa and St. Stephen's also have minority status.
According to the guidelines issued by the central government, all central universities must implement 27 percent OBC reservation quota. However, Jamia, which has a central university status, is yet to start the process. University Grants Commission (UGC) has written many times that the University must implement the government rule or else it may face monetary sanctions. Jamia, which was set up in 1920 by an act of parliament, presently, has around 19000 students.
