Zee Media Bureau

Lucknow: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Saturday withdrew bizzare diktats banning T-shirts and jeans for girl students staying at hostels.

The provost of Abdullah Hall, Dr Ghazala Parveen, had warned that "if any girl is caught violating the dress code, she will be fined Rs 500". The notice had said that female students should wear "proper and decent-looking dresses, i.e., salwar kameez with dupatta, both in or outside the hostel".

The girl students of six hostels that make up Abdullah Hall were further told to keep only one mobile phone to talk to their parents and not to boyfriends.

The women were also restricted from visiting cinemas, restaurants and hotels, and "take meals in the dining hall only".

The girls, unlike boys, are not entitled to Sunday excursions out of the campus, as it is felt it could "vitiate the moral standards and norms of a decent society", a professor said.

In a bid to water down strong reactions to the AMU`s decision, Dr Rahat Abrar, Public Relations Officer of AMU, issued a statement, saying: “This was only an advisory, issued in Abdullah Hall by Ghazala Praveen .. This not a official decision of AMU… We have asked Ghazala Parveen, who is the in-charge of overall supervision of hostels to withdraw decision.”

In April, the varsity`s vice chancellor, Lt Gen (retd) Zameer Uddin Shah, said motorcycles will not be permitted in the Aligarh Muslim University campus from the next academic session. He had added that "motorcycles have become a major menace" as criminal elements are operating in "motorcycle gangs".

Also in an open letter in the same month, the vice chancellor had instructed male students to wear sherwanis when they came to see him. The women students were asked to "dress according to the customs and traditions" of AMU.

According to Dr Parveen, the restrictions were "precautions" against "indecent incidents".

"It is all precautionary measures. The dress code is indicative; outside the hall, they can wear anything, but not inside. But they should be properly and decently dressed. I am a liberal and have no problem with the dress code but then they need to give an undertaking that if any indecent incident happens, I will not be held responsible," Dr Parveen had been quoted as saying by a daily.

AMU is a public university, funded by the central government and a seat of quality education for millions ever since educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan founded it in 1875.