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The government was on the defensive on Friday, after Amartya Sen, Nobel laureate and chancellor of Nalanda University, made public his letter withdrawing his candidature for a second term at the helm of the international university, despite the governing board unanimously recommending his name.
While Sen alleged “political interference in academic matters”, adding “the government wants me to cease being the chancellor of Nalanda University after July”, the Ministry of External Affairs maintained there was “no attempt to curtail his (Sen’s) tenure”.
Sen was quoted on Friday as saying, “My wife tells me ‘you were a critic of (Prime Minister) Modi and he does not want you as a chancellor. It is completely symmetrical’.”
At a meeting of the governing board on January 13-14 in Rajgir (Bihar), it was decided Sen’s name would be recommended for a second term “unanimously and enthusiastically”. This was communicated to the Visitor (President of India) immediately, said board member and Harvard University professor Sugata Bose.
Fellow board member and former Rajya Sabha member NK Singh, however, says the university should move beyond the issue and someone else should be expeditiously appointed so that work can continue unhampered.
In his letter to the governing board, Sen explicitly stated the government’s delay in approving the board’s decision (though it was communicated by January 15), made it amply clear to him that “non-action (by the government) is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision, when the government has, in principle, the power to act or not act…The government can turn an academic issue into a matter of political dispensation if it feels unrestrained about interfering”. Expressing sadness and “general disquiet”, Sen said the episode had prompted him to share his thoughts in public.
Within hours of Sen’s letter being made public, Opposition parties such as the Congress lashed out at the government for demeaning the stature of an internationally renowned academic, Bharat Ratna awardee and Nobel laureate.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, however, said the draft of the minutes of the board meeting hadn’t been cleared yet, adding while recommending Sen, the board had said should the Visitor decide otherwise, the board should be asked to shortlist three names for the post. Government officials indicated as a final decision hadn’t been taken, Sen had acted in haste.
Speaking to Business Standard, Sugata Bose denied any attempt by the government to hide behind technicalities. “It is a very sad day for the Nalanda dream. From the beginning, Sen was leading the efforts to establish this international university with an Asian flavour,” he said. Rejecting the notion that Sen’s appointment under the United Progressive Alliance regime had been of a political hue to begin, Bose said, “I personally had to coax and cajole him to take on the role of chancellor.”
Agreeing with Sen that “political interference” was ruining academic institutions in the country, Bose said, “It’s a question of academic autonomy. It also explains why none of our institutions figure in the top 200 in the world.”
He claimed a decision to continue with Sen was taken to “ensure continuity” and that the university was at a critical juncture, as it had just started with two departments and was about shift to a new campus.
NK Singh said, “I want that the progress of the university should, in no way, be disrupted by this episode and the international commitment given at successive Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summits should be implemented.”
