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Amartya Sen quits Nalanda varsity, says government doesn't want me
New Delhi, Feb 20
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen
has withdrawn his candidature as chancellor of Nalanda University,
alleging that the government does not want him to continue to head the
prestigious multi-country initiative. The government denied the
allegations even as the opposition Congress asked it not to politicise
the issue.
Sen in his letter to the Nalanda governing board, said
he was withdrawing his candidature citing delay in the government
approval for his continuation.
External affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin clarified that there was no attempt to
curtail the tenure of Amartya Sen as chancellor of Nalanda University.
Akbaruddin
also said the ministry has not yet received the approved minutes of the
meeting of the governing board of Nalanda University from the members,
in order to forward it to the Visitor, the president of India, for
approval.
The governing board had in its meeting in January approved giving Sen another term as chancellor.
Akbaruddin
said the draft of the minutes of the meeting was received Feb 13 with a
covering that it is to be approved in two weeks time.
He said the approved minutes has not yet been received, and there was "still time".
According
to the spokesperson, the January meeting had also put forward two
options - of giving Sen another term after it ends in July, and also to
provide the Visitor, President Pranab Mukherjee, with an alternate list
of three names to choose from.
He said it is up to President Mukherjee to take a call on the issue if Sen decides to withdraw his candidature.
Sen,
who is also a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian
honour, in his letter wrote: "This delay, as well as the uncertainty
involved, is leading, in effect, to a decisional gap, which is not
helpful to Nalanda University's governance and its academic progress.
"I
have, therefore, decided that in the best interest of Nalanda
University, that I should exclude myself from being considered for
continuing as chancellor beyond this July, despite the unanimous
recommendation and urging of the governing board for me to continue."
He
also decried that "academic governance in India remains so deeply
vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government, when it chooses to
make political use of the special provisions".
The Congress
party, which had appointed the famed economist when it was heading the
previous United Progressive Alliance government, said Sen was a
"national treasure" and the government must refrain from politicising
the issue.
"Amartya Sen is an asset to our country. His work in
the field of economics, food security, education is a good contribution
to the country. There is no reason why they (the government) should not
extend his term. I hope they have a change of heart and not politicise
this issue," party spokesperson Ajoy Kumar told the media here.
Sen,
whose term as chancellor ends in July, was unanimously picked by the
Nalanda University governing board at its last meeting Jan 13-14 this
year.
He said the board's unanimous "firm and enthusiastic"
decision was conveyed to the Visitor, President Pranab Mukherjee, in
mid-January.
"More than a month has passed since then and it now
seems clear that the visitor has been unable to provide his assent to
the governing board's unanimous choice in the absence of the
government's approval.
"The governing board has not been favoured
with a reply to its request, either from the president's office or from
the ministry of external affairs.
"Non-action is a time-wasting
way of reversing a board decision, when the government has, in
principle, the power to act or not act.
"It is hard for me not to
conclude that the government wants me to cease being the chancellor of
Nalanda University after this July, and technically, it has the power to
do so," he wrote.
In an interview to NDTV news channel, he said
that despite President Mukherjee being in favour of his continuing as
chancellor and the university governing board having immediately
"minuted" its decision to select him, there was a "clear view" that the
government does not want him.
On his criticism of Narendra Modi
before he became prime minister and of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sen
said "as an Indian voter it is my liberty to like or not a candidate".