New Delhi: The Muhammad Ali Jauhar University faces an existential threat. The threat of bulldozers looms large over the private varsity that was constructed by a trust founded by senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan.After facing administrative and political scrutiny ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Uttar Pradesh, the varsity, which has around 3,000 students, is now staring at a possible demolition after the administration declared that almost all the buildings constructed in the sprawling campus were illegal. The Rampur Development Authority (RDA) has said that 38 out of the 40 buildings in the university were constructed without proper authorisation within the notified area of the RDA and violated provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Town Planning and Development Act, 1973.With Azam Khan in jail, his wife and former member of parliament, Tazeen Fatma, who has served as the secretary of the varsity as well as its founding trust, spoke to The Wire about the demolition notice. The 77-year-old stated that the threat of demolition was not only the latest in the long line of moves by the government to trouble Azam Khan and his family, but also a cynical attempt to distract the public from the Ram Mandir donation scam.However, she contends that the attempts to polarise voters ahead of the election seems to have fallen flat as the university is receiving widespread support amidst calls that the government withdraw its decision to raze one of the biggest universities in the state.Students of Muhammad Ali Jauhar University protest outside campus over the demolition notice in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Photo: By arrangementExcerpts from a telephonic interview:How do you see the notice issued for the demolition of the university? The administration has given you 15 days to remove the buildings.This notice is absolutely illegal. Our university is built in the village Singhan Khera. The Rampur Development Authority (RDA), which has sent us notice, came to be established in Rampur in 2005. And in the 2005 notification, Singhan Khera village, where the university is built, was not included under the RDA. In a second notification issued in 2024 (September), the RDA was expanded to include several villages. Singhan Khera was among them.All our buildings were constructed and completed by 2015-2016 and classes had started, when Singhan Khera was not a part of RDA. Therefore, the RDA is not authorised in any way to ask us about the maps or issue us notice. There are many other buildings in the village – they also don’t have any maps. This is the response we gave them as well. When we were not under the RDA, where does the question of us having a map arise?Is it true that you were served a notice to appear at 11 am for a hearing on July 15, and after receiving your written replies, the administration passed the order for demolition at 4 pm on the same day?Yes. After the university received the notice, the registrar along with a lawyer went there. They informed them that the RDA did not apply then and we were then under a rural area. We informed them that their notice itself was based on incorrect facts.How did this notice come about then? Was it sudden?As far as my understanding, this issue has been highlighted to cover up the donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir. This is being done to bury that matter and divert public attention away from the donation theft to the university.Is there more to it?Ever since this university came into existence, they have kept making one allegation or another in an attempt to harm the university. They level one charge or another.You are obviously planning to legally fight the demolition notice? (The RDA has already filed a caveat in the Allahabad high court anticipating a legal challenge by the university). We will fight until the very end. And we hope that we will get justice.This has been the project of a lifetime for Azam Khan. How important is this university for you and how badly do you want to save it? Preserving the university is crucial for us because Azam sahab poured his heart and soul into it; he was driven by junoon (passion) to ensure that our people in Rampur received an education. That is why he established a university through the Trust and also set up three or four schools – schools that have now been ruined. They have been shut down, all teaching has ceased, and they lie wide open. They were ruins before, and they are destined to become ruins once again.The Rampur district administration has set up a student counselling centre at the university’s main gate where they are counselling students about admissions and other thing.They have set up a counselling camp outside the university. Around 20-25 professors and lecturers from other colleges are stationed there to counsel the students so that the students who are coming here to take admission don’t come here thinking the university is going to be demolished. And in its place, they should be seeking admission in a new university that has opened in Moradabad, Guru Jambeshwar University (2025) University.Basically, they are saying that this is bound to be demolished, you should not come seek admission here. They just want to hurt us in every possible manner. Even if they demolish the university, our students are adamant that they will study on the ground or under trees. The land does not belong to them. They can only demolish the building, they cannot take away the land.Students of Muhammad Ali Jauhar University protest over the demolition notice in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Photo: By arrangementDo you think the demolition of the university would be a huge loss for Rampur and its education infrastructure? This is not a private property.None of this is private. This is being run by a trust. The fees here are very low compared to other universities. In fact, in our schools which have been vacated and seized, the Rampur Public School, which were CBSE recognised, students from financially weak backgrounds or whose parents have died or those who have only a single parent, were being taught for just Rs 20 per month in the same class. Perhaps there would not be anywhere else in India where students get admission in a CBSE school for just Rs 20 a month.What would you like to say to the government, and to chief minister Yogi Adityanath?What can I say, really? What is left to say? Governments actually promote universities and education even further. Governments are supposed to provide support to universities.Why do you think you and your family are constantly being targeted by the government? What do you think is their goal?Bas zulm ki ek inteha hain. (It is the ultimate oppression)By persecuting you, do you feel they are trying to send a message about how Muslims are treated?To me, it simply feels like an injustice is being committed against us – me, my innocent child, and my innocent husband.The UP government has been in power for almost 10 years and the university has functioned under its rule without such a notice or threat. So why now? Is it just to distract from the Ram Mandir donation scam?The second reason is that election time is near. They are trying to make it an issue. But their thinking is flawed. They feel that this will somehow lead to the polarisation of non-Muslim voters. However, at this moment, all our Hindu brothers are standing with us as well. Nobody wants the university to be demolished. Students from all communities – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian faith – came together (on July 18) to hold a dharna outside the university in protest.Omar Rashid is an independent journalist.