MANUU students protest government’s bid to resume varsity land

Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) students raised concerns over the government’s attempt to resume the university land to the tune of 50 acres.

Calling the show-cause notice to the University as alarming, the MANUU Students Collective said it views the move as part of a disturbing pattern of State-led land appropriation, which raises serious questions about the government’s intentions towards public educational institutions.

Recalling the Congress government‘s similar land-grab attempt in the University of Hyderabad, students said the present notice to MANUU appears to follow the same logic, reducing universities to land banks for the State.

“We state unequivocally that the land of MANUU belongs to its students, teachers, and future generations of learners,



not to the whims of the state. Any attempt to snatch away university land under the pretext of “non-utilisation” ignores the structural delays imposed by bureaucratic approvals, funding mechanisms, and central agencies such as the CPWD,” said students.

The university is already facing a hostel crisis, with hundreds of students from marginalized, minority, and economically weaker sections struggling for accommodation. Speedy expansion of hostels is not optional but an urgent necessity, said students. They urged the MANUU administration to treat the notice as a wake-up call.

“We assert that students will not remain silent spectators while the state attempts to acquire land meant for public education. This land and university are ours and we will not allow the state to snatch it away,” they added.