Amanullah being considered for post of Jamia VC

PATNA: Bihar principal home secretary Afzal Amanullah's name is being considered for the post of vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia. There
are five other names also for this top academic post, including that of incumbent VC Mushirul Hasan who is to retire next month. According to reports, Amanullah tops the list which has been submitted to the Union HRD ministry.

Interestingly, the panel of six names prepared by a search committee included three bureaucrats and, of them, two belong to Bihar. Another Bihari bureaucrat is retired IAS officer and State Information commissioner Mohd Shakil Ahmad. A third bureaucrat, Najeeb Jung, is from Maharashtra. This retired IAS officer is currently associated with industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

This is the third time Amanullah is being recommended for campus placement. A couple of years back he was considered for the post of VC of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). But then he was asked to give his consent. However, for some unavoidable reasons he did not give his consent.

In 2000, when Amanullah was to return from Jeddah after four years of service in the Indian embassy there, the Centre wanted him to join as assistant to the then VC of AMU Hamid Ansari, now the vice-president. He had also given his consent for the job, but the then Bihar government did not permit him to go.

When asked to comment, Amanullah said, "I was in Delhi on Friday and the media is agog with reports about my name being considered for Jamia VC." Refusing to comment on the development, he said, "It's too premature to say anything."

However, sources close to the top bureaucrat said that this time he might not be reluctant to accept the challenge if he is offered one. The shortlisted names will be forwarded by the HRD ministry to the President who happens to be Visitor of the Jamia, a Central University established under an Act.

Amanullah, a 1979 batch IAS officer, was appointed Bihar's first Muslim home secretary in 2006 by the Nitish Kumar government in early 2006 on his return from Central deputation.