AMU professor accuses department head, dean of harassment; varsity denies charge

A senior female faculty member at the Aligarh Muslim University accused her head of department and the dean of verbal and mental harassment, alleging that her work progress was deliberately blocked and her seniority was bypassed.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Professor Rachna Kaushal of the Department of Political Science said she had raised the issue with Vice-Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon in September last year, but no action had been taken on her complaint so far.She said she now plans to write to the universitys Visitor and, if required, approach the court.

A senior female faculty member at the Aligarh Muslim University accused her head of department and the dean of verbal and mental harassment, alleging that her work progress was deliberately blocked and her seniority was bypassed.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Professor Rachna Kaushal of the Department of Political Science said she had raised the issue with Vice-Chancellor Prof Naima Khatoon in September last year, but no action had been taken on her complaint so far.

She said she now plans to write to the university's Visitor and, if required, approach the court. Kaushal added that she would not have raised the matter publicly had the university authorities taken her allegations seriously.

However, she denied that her grievances stemmed from any communal or religious bias, asserting that she had never mentioned religious identity as a reason for harassment in her complaints to the university.

''I have been at AMU for over a quarter of a century and owe a lot to this institution. AMU is my karmabhoomi, and I would never level false allegations,'' she said.

A copy of her written complaint, addressed to the vice-chancellor and dated September 22, 2025, accessed by PTI, however, states that she was being harassed because of her ''religious identity''.

Senior university officials strongly rejected allegations of negligence or high-handedness. In a media release issued on Thursday, AMU said it had taken ''serious cognisance'' of the issues raised by the faculty member and that all complaints were being addressed fairly and strictly in accordance with the university's rules and statutes.

The head of the Department of Political Science, Prof Nafees Ahmad Ansari, is currently out of station. When contacted, he told PTI that he would respond to the allegations upon his return to Aligarh.

''There appears to be a lot of misunderstanding on this matter, which will be addressed on my return,'' he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)