Nov 11 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi) Can't let girls in library as boys will crowd in: AMU Eram Agha Aligarh   Turning down the demand of students of Women's College, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), for access to the varsity's Maulana Azad Library , vice-chancellor Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah has said there would be “four times more boys“ in the library if girls were allowed in.“The issue is not of discipline, but of space. Our library is packed,“ the VC said, justifying why the girls were not allowed membership. Women's College principal Naima Gulrez echoed the VC's views. Addressing the audience on Monday during the oath-taking ceremony of the new students' union, she said, “We understand the de mand for access to the library .But have you girls ever seen the library? It is jam-packed with boys. If girls too were to be present in it, the discipline issue might crop up.“ Students of the Women's College are not allowed membership of Maulana Azad Library , reportedly better stocked than the Women's College library . Several previous students' unions, too, have demanded access to the library, located within the university and 3 km from the Women's College. Gulfiza Khan, president of the Women's College students' union, Aligarh Muslim University, said, “We are students of Aligarh Muslim University . We, too, should have the benefit of accessing the famous Maulana Azad Library . The library in the Women's College does not quench our thirst for knowl edge. If space is a problem, we can just issue books and not sit in the library.“ She asserted that access to a good library was necessary for the students. Vice-president of the union, Noorain Batool, and secretary Afra Khanam also emphasized the need for access to the Maulana Azad Library . Librarian Amjad Ali of the Maulana Azad Library said, “If the Women's College library demands books, we send them instantly . The purpose is solved without the students coming here.“ For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com Times View It is really quite retrograde that I girls should be disallowed from using the general library at a university on the grounds that their presence will lead to undue attention from male students.This logic is of a piece with the argument that women should not wear `provocative' clothes if they do not want to be molested or raped. If the fear is that male students will behave in an unseemly fashion, why should girls be denied access to the best library? We hope that better sense will prevail and the vice-chancellor will realise that such a ban is not keeping with modern values.