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Maharashtra government has agreed to Aligarh Muslim University's (AMU) request for land to open a campus in the state

The Maharashtra government is looking for 200 to 300 acres of land in the state, which will be allotted to the Aligarh Muslim University.
Recently, State Minority Development Minister Arif Naseem Khan directed officials of revenue, higher and Technical Education Departments to expedite the search for land, which could be made available to the AMU for its new campus.
”AMU had made repeated requests for the land in the last three years. Recently, the University approached me. I have directed the officers to look for the land and submit a report within a month," said Khan. He added that priority would be given to an area, which has a huge minority population with poor educational infrastructure.
District collectors across the state, Khan added, have been asked to submit a report on the availability of land in their respective districts for opening the varsity campus.
As directed by the central government AMU intends to open five new campuses in Kerala, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Work has already started on campuses in Mallapuram (Kerala) and Murshidabad (West Bengal) after the Centre sanctioned Rs. 25 crore to each of the centres.
Aligarh Muslim University offers more than 250 courses in the traditional and modern branches of education. This is a premier Central University with several faculties and institutes and draws students from all corners of the world, especially Africa, West Asia and South East Asia. In some courses, places are reserved for students from SAARC and Commonwealth countries.
AMU is a unique model where school education and polytechnic education are blended with higher education. Its School Education Board runs five high schools, including one for the visually-challenged and two senior secondary schools, one each for boys and girls.
With more than 32,000 students, about 1,500 teachers and about 6,000 non-teaching staff on its rolls, the university has 12 faculties. It has a women’s college, polytechnics, a college of engineering, a medical college, a dental college and a college of Unani medicine, besides 93 departments of postgraduate teaching and research. The university has a law school and a business school.
When the University opens its centres in five States as approved by the University bodies, it is proposed to replicate the Aligarh Muslim University model in all the centres. The University would establish a medical college, dental college, engineering college, law school, business school and various departments depending on the needs of the regional centres.
The University will consult the local stakeholders before a decision is taken. The centres will be managed by the University Court and the Executive Council and the headquarters will be at Aligarh. Details of the governing body, structure and other aspects remain to be worked out.
The entire project will gain greater momentum as soon as the University receives all the requisite clearance. The matter is being given highest consideration by the University. By this act of expansion, AMU is reaching out to thickly populated Muslim areas that have remained neglected for the past 60 years after Independence.

We have heard many times a person bemoan, “I do not deserve this!” or “Why me?” or similar declarations. Many people live with the rancour in their hearts because of what they have been dealt with in life. This attitude towards trials stems from a denial of God’s omnipotence and that God alone decrees all things. We cannot choose what befalls us, but we can choose our responses to the trials of life, which are inevitable.
It is important to look at the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and know that no one faced greater tribulation. The Prophet lived to see all of his children buried, except for Fatima. How many people experience that in their lifetime? His father died before his birth. His mother died when he was just a boy. His guardian grandfather died thereafter. When he received his calling, he saw his people turn against him with vehemence and brutality. People who had once honoured him now slandered him, calling him a madman, liar, and sorcerer. They stalked him and threw stones at him until he bled. They boycotted him and composed stinging invectives against him. He lost his closest friends and relatives, like Hamza, who was killed on the battlefield. His beloved wife Khadija after 25 years of blissful marriage died during the Prophet’s most difficult moment. Abu Talib, his protecting uncle, also died. How many people have faced all of that? Not once in a single hadith, is there a complaint from him - except when beseeching his Lord.
(Compiled From: Purification of The Heart - Hamza Yusuf.)