NOTES AND COMMUNICATIONS 67 was put there in 1920 by the British Government. But what justification ^has such a subclause, which has been inserted by a Government swearing by secularism, except that the study of Islam, a"foreign55 religion, must be counterbalanced by the study of Hindusism, and other "religions of India" ? This is nothing but playing to Hindu communal sentiments. This long period of communal agitation and counter-agitation has naturally heen a period of trial for those holding democratic opinions inside the University. However, there is no doubt that despite difficulties the democratic movement has registered some gains, and has withstood the reactionary onslaught. The democratic student movement, though still comparatively weak, has been active, and has opposed the communal forces and anti-democratic elements in its bulletins and leaflets. Among teachers, a large number have disapproved of their association's commitments to communal demands, as was clearly shown by the results of the elections to its Executive Committee held late in April. Finally, the 2000 strong AMU Employees Union, which unites the bulk of the low-paid (class IV) employees of the University, has not only made no concession to the communalist agitation, but also has constantly campaigned for communal unity. On May 13 it held a rally of over 500 people, who, after being addressed by A K Gopalan, took a pledge to remain loyal to the cause of working class solidarity, irrespective of religious barriers. While opposing the communal agitation for converting the University into a "minority institution", the democratic elements do not deny that the Muslims face all kinds of discrimination in various other educational institutions, and this fact cannot certainly be disregarded in any appraisal of the role of Aligarh as an institution which draws to itself large numbers of Muslim students. It is also largely accepted that the "residential character55 of the University, that is, the rule that at least 70% of the students should live in hostels, keeps this link alive; because it is largely Muslim students who come from distant places and are prepared to live in hostels. The insistence on this rule, in the given situation, is not unreasonable. But it is not possible to support any proposal which will discriminate between individual teacher and student on communal grounds. Further, the demand to hand over Aligarh to a kind of "private management55 of Muslim communal leaders, would destroy the University as a centre of scientific education. The democratic position on the specific role of Aligarh may be summed up in the counter-resolution actually moved in the AMU Teaching Staff Association, stating that "the primary purpose of this University is to provide modern and scientific education to all, with particular attention to the needs of the Muslim community". Thus, in so far as the present bill passed by Parliament does not concede either the "minority institution55 demand or the counter-demand for compulsory affiliation of local colleges with the University, no democrat can find fault with it. If this were the sole content of the measure,