Hyderabad erupted in political fervor as Union Minister of State Bandi Sanjay Kumar took a firm stand against a contentious notice served to the Maulana Azad National Urdu University. Declaring it ‘completely unacceptable,’ Sanjay accused bureaucratic overzealousness of targeting an institution vital to India’s linguistic diversity.
The notice, issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC), flagged alleged lapses in MANUU’s governance and fund utilization. This has ignited a firestorm, with Sanjay positioning himself as the defender of Urdu-medium education. During a press conference flanked by party workers, he dissected the notice point by point, calling it ‘baseless and motivated.’
‘Urdu University is not just a campus; it’s a symbol of India’s composite culture,’ Sanjay asserted. He recounted how MANUU has produced professionals in fields like IT, management, and journalism, all instructed in Urdu. Underlining the BJP’s commitment to all languages, he demanded a high-level inquiry into why the notice was rushed without due process.
Opposition voices, including those from Congress and AIMIM, have countered that Sanjay’s outrage is selective, ignoring past complaints against the university. Yet, student unions at MANUU have echoed his sentiments, halting classes and vowing sustained agitation until the notice is revoked.
This episode comes amid broader reforms in higher education, including the National Education Policy 2020, which emphasizes multilingualism. Sanjay linked the issue to these reforms, suggesting the notice contradicts the policy’s spirit. As tensions simmer, educationists call for dialogue over confrontation. The coming days will test the government’s balancing act between accountability and institutional freedom, with Sanjay’s words setting the tone for a larger national discourse.
