AMU VC urges students to get back to studies, union rejects plea

In an open letter to the students, he urged them "not to fall into the trap of certain forces which are bent upon destroying the image of our alma mater and are playing with your bright future".

The university has formed a 16-member coordination committee of senior faculty members to talk with the protesting students. The VC asked the students to not to let their studies suffer when the exams are round the corner. The exams, postponed because of the unrest on the campus, are now set to begin on May 12. Several AMU students are on an indefinite dharna after a clash with the police on May 2 when they were demanding action against right-wing protesters who had entered the campus, shouting slogans.

They are asking for a judicial probe into the "police inaction" and the manner in which a row erupted after a BJP MP objected to the portrait of Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, hanging over decades at the AMU student union office.

The VC "fully endorsed" the students' demand for a judicial inquiry and also denounced the "excessive use of force" by the police. But in his letter, he also urged the students to stay calm and focus on their studies and their careers.

The VC said he was pained that some sections of the media, including television channels, were using "half truths" to project a negative image of the university.