Talking of intolerance, here is AMU VC baning TOI from campus. Shameful. http://t.co/R4A88sYQ7n pic.twitter.com/7wU8VeoNsI — Anand Ranganathan (@ARangarajan1972) November 15, 2014

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HC issues notice to AMU VC on library issue

AMU's PRO said the ban on The Times of India on its campus comes in the wake of demands from some students who are upset with a report.

Will the Left Liberal intellectuals speak against no less than AMU(a centrally funded Univ) VC banning TOI? pic.twitter.com/sZnVsYEFMV — ?? ???? ?? ??? (@India_Policy) November 15, 2014

AMU bans TOI in campus?? how can a an university ban a legit newspaper? Is this kind of intolerance they are teaching the students? — Raju Das | ???? ??? (@rajudasonline) November 15, 2014

ALIGARH: Vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University Zameeruddin Shah has banned The Times of India in the campus. At the oath-taking ceremony of the varsity's students union (AMUSU) on Thursday, Shah, who was at the centre of a huge storm triggered by his remark that the Maulana Azad Library would remain out of bounds for undergraduate girl students as it was already cramped for space, made the announcement and spoke of its implementation.Asked about it, AMU 's public relations officer Rahat Abrar said on Friday that the “ban” comes in the wake of demands from some students upset with the report. “There will be no copies of The Times of India in any of our offices or departments,” he said.Quizzed on the Allahabad High Court order on the issue, clearly a rap on Shah's knuckles, Abrar said, “We will take the orders of the high court as we are supposed to, and give a reply on the date set.”Back in the campus, girl students of the Women's College were “happy” at the HC order but were cautious in their interactions with TOI . Student after student asked not to be named while being quoted. One of them said, “If we have hope of entering MAL (Maulana Azad Library), this is great news. If not, at least we should have an office of the library within our campus, so we can make demands for books that will be delivered to us in 24 hours.”A faculty member of AMU, also wishing to remain unnamed, said, “This is sad. TOI raised the issue and got it noticed, and now the university is shooting the messenger.”Another faculty member, promised he will not be quoted, said, “The VC will decide, but there are alumni and parents who are wary of letting the girls move out of the campus to the library. The negative coverage might get us some positive results.”A third year BA student of the Women's College couldn't hide her glee. “The news sounds good, but it comes with a lot of disturbance,” she said. “The publicity (for the university) was negative, but it got us so much attention that the court acted on a PIL. If there is no space, at least we can just go and issue books.”Although undergraduate students of the Women’s College have long been demanding access to the Maulana Azad Library, it has been denied them on grounds of security or limited space within the library.The Women’s College is about three km away from the library, and the area is considered “unsafe” for girls to commute alone. On November 10, during the investiture ceremony of the students’ union of the Women’s College, Shah had said that if girls were allowed in, the number of men in the library would swell four times. That remark was reported prominently by the Times of India.It was later widely disseminated by other newspapers and TV channels. Union human resources development minister Smriti Irani then waded in and said the VC's remarks were an “insult to daughters”.