The Vice-Chancellor of Visva Bharati university, Bidyut Chakraborty retired from his post on Wednesday, November 8. Chakraborty’s five year tenure in the central university at Santiniketan was marked with controversies, including the infamous land row with economist Amartya Sen and the UNESCO plaque issue.
Controversial Tenure
The controversies often took major turns also landing up in courts. In April this year, Amartya Sen was handed a notice by the university to vacate the 1.38 acres of land on the Santiniketan campus claiming he is enjoying it without permit. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sided with Sen on this matter and also personally handed him related official documents. The matter is now sub-judice, that is, under judicial consideration and therefore away from public discussion.
Another controversy was sparked when plaques claiming that Santinektan was a part of UNESCO World Heritage Site were installed and put all over the campus, without the mention of Rabindranath Tagore who had founded the university in 1921. This led to demands for removing them from various quarters. The plaques also bore the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ex-officio Chancellor, and Chakraborty.
In 2020 also, the university had to shut down for a certain period following violent protests against the university's decision of constructing a boundary wall around the annual cultural event of the university, Poush Mela. Few teachers and students also had several run-ins with Chakraborty over several issues.
Official Notification
According to a notification issued by the university, Sanjoy Kumar Mallik, the principal of Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts), has been appointed as the officiating vice-chancellor. Mallik will “perform the duties of the vice-chancellor with effect from forenoon of November 9 until a new vice-chancellor assumes office or until further orders of the Ministry of Education,” the notification said.
