Aligarh Muslim University revokes ‘decent’ diktat

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Aligarh: A circular at a girls’ hostel of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) advising students to wear 'decent clothes like salwar kameez' has sparked a furore, prompting the varsity to withdraw it.
 
The controversy started following a circular pasted by the provost of girls’ hostel, Abdullah Hall, two days back which advised students to wear “decent clothes” like salwar kameez and not to carry more than one cellphone.
 
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As the diktat drew criticism from various quarters, the AMU authorities on Friday night withdrew the circular while clarifying that it “never even remotely suggested that jeans or T-shirts or any other dress is on the ban list at AMU”.
 
“We have no intention whatsoever of specifying any dress code and neither did the above circular do so. All that we have sought is that students including girls should be in a decent attire which reflects the ethos of our society. In any case the above circular was issued not by top university administration but the provost of one of the halls of residence,” said Brigadier (Retd.) S. Ahmad Ali, AMU’s pro-vice chancellor, who is holding charge as the acting VC in the absence of Lt General Zamiruddin Shah. 
 
He said that there are five halls of residence for girls in AMU and one out of these had issued an advisory mainly dealing with rules and regulations including the compulsory presentation of ID cards while entering the girls’ hostels.
 
“We have asked the provost to withdraw the above circular so as to remove even an iota of doubt regarding the sincerity of our intentions,” he said.
 
The pro-vice chancellor also refuted reports claiming use of social media was banned inside the hostels.