Najeeb Jung ka Jamia!

By Rashid Abbasi( A student of Jamia Millia Islamia) 

Yesterday afternoon( On 23rd May), I was reading a newspaper in the deserted reading hall, on the first table near the entry gate and then I received a call (my phone was on silent mode) from Zaki( my friend). Thinking of the scorching sunlight outside , I talked to him for about 3-4 minutes in the hall and the moment I cut the call the proctor of Jamia entered inside the hall and his evil eyes caught me, with the phone.

He ordered army uniformed Jamia’s security guard to snatch my phone. He came to me and asked “you were talking on phone?” I said “yes sir I talked only for a while and my phone was on silent”.

He didn’t listen to me and took my phone and said “take it from proctor office”.
(Note: during all this, proctor’s phone rang and he talked on his phone in the middle of reading hall)

Anyways, I thought that I will get my phone back later and continued with the reading of newspaper but after a moment I became uneasy with the thoughts like, what if they take time or not even return it to me and after all it’s my phone and I have to reach CP before 6pm… I stood up and decided to reach proctor office immediately.. The guard outside told me  “proctor saab is not come back yet (the image of snatching other students I-cards and phone appeared to my mind).. It was around 3:30pm. I went back to library and found the same army uniform guard and requested him to return my phone… He gave me my sim but denied giving me my phone back. I again requested proctor but he shouted on me while sitting in his blue jeep.

Then again I reached at proctor’s office and asked the guard outside if I could go in..

He said “saab abhi garam hain, wait karo.” I kept on waiting but saab continued to be garam for half an hour… it was getting difficult for me to stand in the intense heat..

So I decided to go to our university dean and our peacemaking teacher Tasneem ma’am and requested her to help me. I told her about the whole incidence, and also told her how I have only one phone and why it’s very important for me. i also told her that I’m ready for any punishment except confiscation of my phone.
Ma’am expressed his helplessness and said “VC saab ka order hai, sorry I can’t interfere in others work“.
I came back to proctor office and asked the guard, “if saab is still angry or not?”

After one hour around 4:30 I got the call to come inside..Proctor was there inside and he asked me “what is the matter?” (pretending he don’t remember me anymore)..I told him my story. In the meantime I managed to look at the table and saw some Xerox copies of documents related to me..I could see my photo on each one of them.

At the moment I was feeling like a criminal standing in a police station with my past record on their table…!

 After all conversation, he said “phone ko bhul jao and think about paying fine.” His assistant showed me a sheet on which something of this sort  was written “if caught in library phone shall not be return and fine of Rs 1000 which has been increased to 3000, shall be paid otherwise admission cancel. Undersigned by Najeeb jung. “

Amused and disgusted after reading such a law I said timidly “sir, even my phone does not cost that much and I can’t afford such a heavy penalty”. Like his favorite response… He became angry again (so, I unintentionally made him garam again) and he told the guard to ask me to go outside.
I came outside wondering what to do to get my phone back and took a look on the notice board, which most of the times is full of mail today articles written by VC with his photo..(Something you can find everywhere in university)

I felt like a poor common man in the kingdom of Najeeb Jung.

It was around 5 pm and as a last hope, I went again to our teacher/dean and again requested and told her my heartbreaking story and told her how most of my contact no. are in my phone but not in the sim and how I can not buy new phone immediately…Bla bla… I gave her assurance that I can even return my phone in two days if they would allow me to copy my contacts.  She asked me to write an application and she additionally also wrote in it.. “On behalf of being his teacher, I guarantee that Rashid will return the phone on Monday after copying all contacts.”

She called up the proctor and then again I was at proctor’s office… This time I found  our garam proctor thanda  and then they finally returned my phone on the condition that I will give it back on Monday.

I have no problem in returning my phone which is already dying a slow death and becoming difficult to operate each passing day. Perhaps its important for them to show it, to their beloved VC, as one of many achievements of their students prosecution job. But at the end I also felt bad for all the victims of autocratic system of Jamia where everything is VC saab and everything is depend upon the ‘mood’ of administration!!