Mysuru: Stating that the acrimony that had set in following the demolition of the historic Babri Masjid in 1992 was such that it had cast a pall over the goodwill earned by the Muslim community among the majority community , vice-chancellor of Kashmir, Pondicherry and Abdur Rahman universities Prof. Jalees Ahmed Khan Tareen on Sunday said, “Muslims in India have to earn the goodwill of the majority community. The site of the Babri mosque must be handed over to the Hindus to put an end to Hindu-Muslim animosity.”

Prof. Tareen, who participated in a programme organised by the Mysore Literary Association as part of the release of his book ‘Rise of a barefoot boy: An autobiography’, called on the government to allocate funds to build more schools.

Lamenting the politicisation of Indian universities, the former VC said, “I have written about my stint as a VC at all three universities, and the kind of politics in varsities in our country. The sort of politics you witness in Indian universities is unique. Vested interests outsmart you, and there is a team in every university specializing in filing petitions.”

Prof. Tareen bemoaned the inability among bureaucrats to take decisions, and alleged that the one thing they did was to pass the buck endlessly. “When an allegation is made against someone in a varsity, the complaint is forwarded to the bureaucrat, who then returns it to the varsity for remarks – this is exactly what the vested interests want,” he added.

Elaborating on the course that such an issue would then take, he said, “Once vested interests learn that the complaint has now come back to the varsity for remarks, they use their friends in the media to come up with articles to victimize someone.”

The former VC said that the sheer population of the country, combined with the limited opportunities on offer, communities ended up being pitted against one another. “Minority communities hardly get a fair share of the pie,” said Prof. Tareen.

On the other hand, vice-president of Mysore Literary Association HS Shivanna lauded Prof. Tareen for refusing to turn into a cynic despite the typical Indian crab mentality that dogged him professionally. “His book speaks about the role politics played in his career. But, ultimately, it was his talent that took him places. He was singled out at the university of Mysore (UoM), Kashmir and Pondicherry universities, but he never got bogged down,” said Shivanna.

However, Shivanna could not help but remark on the present state of affairs of UoM. “There was a time when it was known for its academic achievements. It is sad that it could not even get an ‘A’ grade by the University Grants Commission,” he added.

