MANUU Students Protest State Govt’s Bid to Resume

Hyderabad:Students of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) intensified their protest on Wednesday against the Telangana government’s show-cause notice proposing the resumption of 50 acres of campus land, saying the move threatens future academic growth and student welfare.

Protesting under the banner of the MANUU Students Collective, students said the notice wrongly portrayed long-standing delays as “non-utilisation” while ignoring structural constraints faced by public universities. “This land was allotted keeping future academic needs in mind. It cannot be judged only on what has been built so far,” student leader Talha Mannan said.

He said delays were caused by factors beyond the university’s control. “Bureaucratic approvals, lack of timely funding and dependence on agencies like the Central Public Works Department have slowed development. Penalising the university for this is unfair,” Mannan said, adding that students would continue opposing any reduction in land meant for expansion.

Former MANUU Students’ Union president Mateen Ashraf said the proposal ignored pressing campus needs. “MANUU is already facing a serious hostel shortage, with many students from minority and economically weaker backgrounds struggling for accommodation. This land should be used for hostels and academic facilities, not taken away,” he said.

Students also urged the university administration to take visible steps towards infrastructure expansion to counter claims of non-utilisation. Later, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) Telangana state committee issued a statement backing the protest, calling the notice an attack on the right to education and reiterating that university land is meant for long-term academic use. Students said the protest would continue until the notice was withdrawn.

Former minister Harish Rao said that in the last two years the government had taken over more than 100 acres from Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University and Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University, damaged over 400 acres of forest land at the University of Hyderabad, and was now moving to resume 50 acres allotted to Maulana Azad National Urdu University, calling it a “systematic assault” on education and research.

Union minister Bandi Sanjay described the show-cause notice to MANUU as unacceptable, questioned why land meant for education was being scrutinised, and warned that touching university lands was a “red line”, saying he would stand with students and launch a statewide agitation if the move was pursued.