UGC panel suggests to remove words 'Musilm' from AMU, ‘Hindu’ from BHU

The suggestion came after the government audit of central universities by the committee set up by the UGC at the behest of the HRD Ministry

A committee set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has suggested that the words 'Muslim' and 'Hindu' be dropped from the names of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), respectively, to reflect their secular character.

The suggestion came after the government audit of central universities by the committee set up by the UGC at the behest of the HRD Ministry to probe complaints of irregularities against 10 central universities the AMU audit did not cover BHU but referred to the institution's name in its report, according to The Indian Express.

In its audit of AMU, the committee suggested that the institution should either be called just 'Aligarh University' or be named after its founder, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. It cited the same reason to recommend that BHU's name be amended, too.

The report further said that the panel members, who did not wish to be identified, the suggestion stems from the logic that AMU, being a centrally-funded university, is a secular institution.

Besides AMU and BHU, other universities that were audited by the panel include: Pondicherry University, Allahabad University, Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in Uttarakhand, Central University of Jharkhand, Central University of Rajasthan, Central University of Jammu, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya in Wardha, University of Tripura and Hari Singh Gour University in Madhya Pradesh.

(With agency inputs)