Visva-Bharati an arena of corruption: V-C to Mamata Banerjee

He also alleged that he was not the first Visva-Bharati V-C to “suffer”. He cited the examples of former Visva-Bharati V-Cs Satyen Bose, Amlan Dutta and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya who he said were “forced to resign before their tenure”.

“Visva-Bharati is an arena of corruption and fulfillment of self-interest. Those who stirred the hornet’s nest had to suffer. Even Gurudev (Tagore) and his son Sri Rathindranath Tagore had to leave Santiniketan with tearful eyes. Rathindranath was the first V-C of Visva-Bharati, but he had to resign after being insulted. Recently, Sahityik Nabakumar Basu had written about Tagore’s experience in his book titled ‘Tomar Andhar Tomar Alo’. The situation was repeated in cases of professor Satyen Bose, Amlan Dutta and Sabyasachi Bhattacharya (all former V-Cs) who had to resign before their tenure got over. Can we learn from such instances?” Chakrabarty wrote.

The V-C also wrote those who are “used to gaining illegal benefits from Visva-Bharati” were like the “flames of an earthen lamp which flicker before dying out”.

“Gurudev (Tagore) is seeing that his successor, who is traumatised by insults, is not deviating from his ideals even by an inch. This is the cause of heartburn of those who are criticising,” he wrote. Chakrabarty’s tenure as the Visva-Bharati V-C has been mired in controversies, the latest of them being the row over installation of three plaques on the campus to mark the UNESCO world heritage tag for the varsity. The plaques did not have Tagore’s name, but those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the Chancellor of the university, and vice-chancellor Chakrabarty. Santiniketan, where Tagore built Visva-Bharati over a century ago, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in September.

The move drew criticism not only from the CM but also Bharatiya Janata Party. In a post on X on October 30, the CM described the plaques as an “abrasive and arrogant display of self- absorbed narcissism” and called for the immediate removal of the plaques. The Birbhum unit of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is presently protesting outside the university campus to demand the removal of the plaques.
Even Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari had called upon Visva-Bharati authorities to set right the omission of Tagore’s name as it involved the “sentiments of millions of Bengalis”.

On Tuesday, BJP leader and Visva-Bharati faculty member Anupam Hazra also participated in TMC’s dharna. Talking to mediapersons, Hazra said, “Without Rabindranath Tagore, there can never be Visva-Bharati. It (the absence of Tagore’s name in the plaques) should be corrected without anyone having to insist on it.”

“I have been saying this for a long time that this vice-chancellor is trying to pretend that he is a BJP leader. Once his tenure ends, we will restore the honour of this place, including Santiniketan. He has not only maligned Santiniketan but the entire Visva-Bharati campus. All of us who love Visva-Bharati and Rabindranath Tagore want this VC removed,” Hazra added.

Reacting to it, state BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said, “If someone feels uncomfortable in the BJP, he is free to join any other political party, including the TMC. There are dedicated BJP workers who have devoted their entire lives to the party.” Hazra, who switched over from the TMC ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, had on Monday criticised the state BJP, alleging that it was sidelining its old leaders.

Earlier in January, Visva-Bharati authorities stoked a row after they accused Nobel laureate and economist Amartya Sen of “illegally holding” 13 decimals of land. The institution released a statement alleging that Sen’s ancestral property occupies 1.38 acres, only 1.25 acres were leased to his father late Ashutosh Sen. Amartya’s maternal grandfather Kshitimohan Sen, a Sanskrit scholar of repute, was invited to Santiniketan by Rabindranath Tagore in 1908. He played a key role in building the Visva-Bharati along with Tagore. Amartya, born in 1933, was named Amartya by Tagore.

On the university campus, plots were given to many eminent persons on a 99-year lease from Tagore’s time. Amartya’s father, Ashutosh Sen, was a professor at the university, and he purchased sections of the land at the centre of the dispute. Amartya grew up in Pratichi, the house built by his father, and visits it frequently.

On January 24, Visva-Bharati authorities issued a letter to Amartya, asking him to hand over parts of the plot. On January 27, the university issued a second letter with the same demand. Sen wrote to Visva-Bharati V-C Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty two days later, saying that his father had purchased the free-hold land from the market and not from Visva-Bharati, and they have been paying taxes for it.
Later in March, the state government transferred the leasehold rights of 1.38 acres of land at Santiniketan in the name of Amartya Sen.
The Chief minister visited ‘Pratichi’ and handed over the land and revenue department records, which stated that 1.38 acres of land covered by the economist’s ancestral property belongs to him by virtue of a mutation executed in 2006.

Chakrabarty again courted controversy in October after the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) wrote to the Ministry of Education and urged it not to extend his tenure as the VC as he was facing “serious criminal charges, including sexual harassment and caste atrocities.”
— With PTI inputs