REFERENCE report ‘Women barred from library at Aligarh University ( Nov 12). As an ex-Alig, I feel distressed on reading the news which is wrong and unnecessarily sensationalises a simple administrative issue into an issue of gender bias.

Maulana Azad Library, spread on several floors, is one of the richest libraries in India and was established 54 years ago in 1960. The Aligarh Women’s College, which is located about three kilometres from the main university campus, has students whose number exceeds those of many universities in India.

AMU does not offer co-education up to graduation level; instead, all faculties and facilities are available for girls in the Womens College, including a library.

A digital library is being established. It will be connected with Maulana Azad Library.

Maulana Azad Library itself has more than 2,700 registered women members, including postgraduate students, research scholars and students of various professional courses, who benefit from it on a daily basis.

The students of the Women’s College, students of Senior Secondary Schools (Boys and Girls inclusive) and students of University Polytechnique are not members of the central library.

As Maulana Azad Library lacks space to entertain the entire student fraternity numbering about 40,000, separate arrangements have been made on the basis of departments, faculties and residential halls through book banks and seminar libraries.

S. M. Hasan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 15th , 2014