On April 27, over hundred students residing at Abdullah Hall, a women’s hostel at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), gathered outside the main gate of the Women’s College to protest against prolonged and recurrent power cuts that have disrupted their lives for weeks.
The hostellers raised slogans demanding the restoration of electricity, chanting “Ek do teen chaar, Abdullah ki light bekaar” and “We want VC,” according to a Political Science undergraduate.
However, tensions escalated when faculty members allegedly assaulted and threatened the students.
In a video accessed by The Observer Post, Professor Syed Ali Nawaz Zaidi, who teaches “Human rights, and commercial law” as per varsity’s website at the faculty of law, is seen manhandling female students and is heard saying, “Tumko nanga kar ke khada kar denge” (“We will strip you naked and make you stand”).
“He grabbed a girl’s next and threatened her,” said a hostel resident, requesting anonymity due to fear of retaliation.
In another video, he is seen aggressively silencing the students, saying “you are creating a law and order situation”. In between, he lashed out rudely uttering “chup …ek dam chup” (shut up…absolutely quiet), as hostellers tried to hold the dialogues.
Another teacher, Bushra Ghyas, from the AMU Girls School, located within the Women’s college campus, reportedly belittled the students, saying, “You come from villages where there’s no electricity for nine hours a day. If you’re so concerned, bring an inverter from home.”
Abdullah Hall had been without electricity for the past 14 hours. “Is Abdullah hall a village? How can an official address students in this manner and refuse to take responsibility?”, a student said.
“This is how AMU deals with women and their issues,” said a hosteller, adding that “When a woman speaks up for her rights, she is labelled as disrespectful”.
Multiple students told The Observer Post they had been facing threats from the university administration after raising their concerns and requested anonymity to avoid further harassment.
The protest on sunday began around 10 a.m., with students sitting peacefully outside the college gate, demanding the Vice-Chancellor’s (VC) intervention. Despite their repeated requests, faculty members threatened the students.
Professor Waseem, university proctor, reportedly dismissed their grievances, calling them an “ordinary concern” and accused students of “violating law and order.”
Vice-Chancellor Professor Naima Gulrez arrived at the site around 1 p.m. but dismissed the students’ demands. “There’s no rule stipulating you will be provided 24/7 electricity,” she said, citing a lack of funds to install generators.
“We asked her why the power cuts were happening so routinely, but she did not respond,” a student recounted. The VC left the scene shortly after, exiting through the back gate of the provost’s office without addressing the students’ concerns.
Students described the protest as entirely peaceful, asserting that it was met with hostility by the university staff. Eyewitnesses said more than 10 male university guards aggressively dragged several female students during the protest.
Hostellers residing at Abdullah Hall said that while power cuts were not new, they had become longer and more frequent since eid, as electricity would be cut around 11 a.m. and restored by 5 p.m. However, students now face power outages that last throughout the day.
“If by chance it’s not cut during the day, the electricity outage lasts throughout the night,” a student of the abdullah hall said.
For over a week, hostel residents have struggled with soaring temperatures, dead phone batteries, and disruptions to their academic work. Students previously approached the Provost’s office, but were given vague explanations about transformer issues and maintenance work.
“We were told the problem would be solved in a week, but instead, nothing was resolved,” a student said.
The protest on April 27 was the culmination of mounting frustration, as students demanded immediate administrative action to ensure stable electricity supply in hostel premises.
