Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor Lt Gen (retd.) Zameeruddin Shah has kicked up a rather dusty storm of controversy with his statement that there would be "four times more boys" in the varsity's prestigious Maulana Azad Library if girl students were allowed free entry. He reportedly said the presence of girls in the library would breed indiscipline and disturb the boys' concentration.

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NGOs, social activists, politicians and people of all hues have slammed the V-C as "sexist" and "retrograde", though Shah is now at pains trying to clarify he had been misunderstood and quoted out of context. Even HRD Minister Smriti Irani has taken umbrage to the reported statement, and directed the Union higher education secretary to conduct an inquiry.

"Shiksha ke mandir mein mahilaon ke apmanit hone ki khabrein aa rahi hain," Smriti Irani said when reporters questioned her in Delhi. (I am getting reports of women being insulted in temples of education.) "It's not only saddening as a woman but also instills a feeling of resentment," she said, a tad bitterly. It's unfortunate that such statements have surfaced when the entire nation is celebrating National Education Day, Irani added, terming it as an "insult to daughters".

The V-C had made the statements on Monday during the oath-taking ceremony of the new students' union. He had justified his stand in refusing free entry to girl students, saying there was no space in the library. "The library is packed," he said. The Abdullah Women's College principal Naima Gulrez had also echoed his views: "We understand the demand for access to the library. But have you girls ever seen the library? It is jam-packed with boys. If girls too were to be present in it, the discipline issue might crop up."

The issue of the Abdullah Women's College students' access to the famed Maulana Azad Library, the biggest in Asia and much better stocked than the women's college library, has been simmering for a long time now. Several students' unions in the past, too, have been raising the demand.

Says Gulfiza Khan, president of the Women's College students' union, said: "As bonafide AMU students, we, too, should be allowed into the library. The library in the Women's College is not good enough. If space is the problem, we can just get the books issued and not sit in the library."

The Women's College was established in 1906 while MAL was set up much later. Students of the Women's College were never given membership of the library, which can seat 1,300 readers at a time. The library has 12 seats reserved for AMU women students.

Meanwhile, Shah on Tuesday clarified that he had been entirely misunderstood. "We are not at all sexist, we don't discriminate against girl students in any way," the AMU VC told reporters in Lucknow where he is reported to have tried to pacify a much-peeved Governor Ram Naik who will send a report to the Centre in his capacity as Chancellor of all UP universities.

Speaking to reporters here, the V-C cited security concerns to defend his diktat. "The library is three km from the women's college and there have been incidents of chain-snatching, mugging and crime involving our students on this stretch. Security of girl students is of utmost concern," he added.