AMU alumnus appointed MANUU vice chancellor

JEDDAH: An alumnus of India’s historic Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been named as the new vice chancellor of the Hyderabad-based Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU).
Mohammad Aslam Parvaiz from Delhi replaces the controversial Mohammad Miyan who reached the age of retirement in May this year. The post has been vacant for the last five months with Khwaja M. Shahid serving as acting vice chancellor.
Before his appointment as vice chancellor of MANUU, Parvaiz was principal of the prestigious Zakir Husain Delhi College, an institution with which he has been associated for the last 30 years. He is expected to take charge at MANUU in a week’s time.
Parvaiz is an accomplished botanist, having completed his master’s degree and doctoral thesis from Aligarh Muslim University over a 10-year period beginning in 1974.
His appointment was widely welcomed by AMU alumni all over the world.
“We are delighted that a son of Aligarh has been appointed as MANUU vice chancellor,” said Mukarram Ali Khan, an elderly AMU alumnus from Dammam. “We are naturally delighted.”
MANUU Chancellor Zafar Sareshwala described Parvaiz as a man of integrity and honesty. “His name was suggested by a search committee constituted by the Human Resources Development Ministry,” he told Arab News on Saturday. “The committee shortlisted three names from among 300 candidates.”
The president then selected Parvaiz for the coveted post for a five-year term.
“The most important aspect about Parvaiz is that he has a vision,” said Sareshwala. “Plus as an academic researcher and an AMU product, he has an analytical mind which will help the university to compete with the best universities.”
Sareshwala met Parvaiz on Saturday and suggested that he write a white paper on where the university stands in terms of academic excellence and what needs to be done to bring it up to par with Hyderabad University. “Together, we hope to achieve much good for the promotion of Urdu and the Urdu community,” he added.
Parvaiz has visited Saudi Arabia in the past and has delivered lectures on the Holy Qur’an and science to wide acclaim. He founded, and still edits, a popular first-of-its-kind monthly science magazine in Urdu, “Urdu Mahnama Science.”
Since he enjoys wide popularity in the Urdu-speaking community, expectations are high that he will be able to accomplish what other vice chancellors in the past have been unable to do.
There is an additional sigh of relief that the Narendra Modi-government has not imposed a politically-connected man on the university as has happened with some other national academic institutions.