MANUU students protest Telangana government’s land resumption plan

MANUU students protested against the Telangana government’s plan to resume 50 acres of university land, calling it an attack on public education. Leaders emphasized the land belongs to students, not the state, and should support academic development.

Hyderabad: Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) students, under the banner of the MANUU Students Collective, on Wednesday organised a protest against the Telangana Congress government’s attempt to grab 50 acres of the varsity land.

Students, who took out a rally from Central Library to Bab-e-Ilm on the campus, described the government’s recent show-cause notice on resumption of land move as a direct attack on public education and an attempt to treat universities as surplus land banks rather than academic institutions.

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Addressing the protest, student leader Talha Mannan condemned the government’s action and warned against repeating the pattern witnessed in other public universities.

“This notice is not an isolated administrative act but reflects a disturbing trend where public universities are being viewed as repositories of vacant land. We have already seen how land belonging to the University of Hyderabad was sought to be taken away. MANUU students will not allow it to repeat itself here,” he said.

Mannan further asserted that the land belongs to the academic community and future generations, not to shifting state priorities. MANUU Students’ Union former president Mateen Ashraf said the university land should be used to build hostels, libraries, and academic infrastructure, not handed over in the name of ‘resumption’.

MANUU Students’ Union (2019) former president Umar Faruq said the university students would not surrender even an inch of land. “The university land is meant exclusively for students, particularly minority and economically weaker students. We will not tolerate any plan to snatch land from MANUU. The government should focus on development, not behave like a land mafia,” Faruq added.