Modi to be first PM to attend an Aligarh Muslim University event since 1964

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the centenary celebration of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on December 22 via video link, Omar Saleem Peerzada, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of AMU, said on Wednesday.

PM Modi will be accompanied by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

This is the first time PM Modi will participate in a programme of the Aligarh Muslim University. The event will be held online due to the coronavirus restrictions in place.

Moreover, the last time a sitting prime minister visited the varsity to attend an event was in 1964, when the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri delivered the convocation address there.

"The vice-chancellor is very grateful to the Prime Minister and education minister for taking out time from their busy schedules to attend the celebration. This is an important day for the university," Peerzada added.

Times of India quoted a senior AMU official saying the PM Modi’s presence would "send a strong message to BJP functionaries who keep attacking the institution."

Last year, protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act led to a backlash against the government and the varsity's scholars have been vocal against cases of violence against women in UP and in favour of the ongoing farmers’ protest in Delhi.

Set up as Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, the institution was later renamed as Aligarh Muslim University in 1920. It was formally inaugurated as a university on December 17 that year.