Nashra Naim was very clear that she was contesting in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Students’ Union election — an institution that has been revived after eight years — to win.

Those around her might have had their doubts because most cannot remember when a woman had last been elected to a chair position in the students’ union. But she has now carved her own place in AMU’s history, by being elected vice-president — the first woman to be elected to one of the top posts of president, vice-president, or secretary in at least four decades.

AMU voted for its students’ union on November 5 after a gap of eight years, and the results were announced on Friday.

It had been suspended by the administration since 2019, citing campus violence, indiscipline, and law and order.…