Tag: Amartya

Intellectuals hold sit-in near Amartya Sen’s Santiniketan house for second day

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Santiniketan: Intellectuals held a sit-in near the ancestral house of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen here on Saturday protesting against the notice by Visva-Bharati university to the economist to vacate 0.13 acres (5,500 sq ft) of the total 1.38 acres allegedly held by him ‘illegally’ or face eviction.
Rabindranath Tagore’s songs of protest were sung during the sit-in.
Among the intellectuals who took part in the protest, held for the second consecutive day, were film maker Goutam Ghosh, painters Suvaprasanna and Jogen Choudhury.

In another podium, set up near by, leaders of the ruling TMC sat in protest. They included state minister Chandranath Sinha, Suri MLA and Birbhum zilla parishad president Bikash Roy Choudhury, Labhpur MLA Abhijit Sinha and Nanoor MLA Bidhan Majhi.
Scores of party activists too sat with them.
The TMC is opposing the Visva-Bharati notice to Sen tooth and nail.
“I have come all the way from Kolkata to voice my protest against the harassment and insult to an internationally respected economist like Amartya Sen, who is among the country’s pride. The way his land issue is being treated by Visva-Bharati authorities is unfortunate as the matter is sub-judice,” Ghosh said.
“This is not the Visva-Bharati we have known. We demand that Amartya babu should not be subjected to such treatment any more,” the filmmaker told PTI over phone.
Sinha said people of Bengal are aghast over the treatment meted out to Sen by the university and the “democratic protest” against it will continue for the next few days.

The protests followed sit-ins by the ‘Committee for Protection of Social Dignity’, which too was held in front of of Pratichi on the same issue on Friday. Tagore’s famed drama ‘Rakta Karabi’ was staged as a mark of protest and local people and Ashramites of Visva-Bharati protested by singing the Bard’s songs.
‘Rakta Karabi’ is a powerful and poignant play where commercial expoitation, oppression, power, love and obsession operate on different levels and manifest themselves in different shades.
Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua Banerjee said, “The matter is in the court. We respect its order and the law of the land. We have lodged a complaint to the competent authorities.
“Since Section 145 is in force to maintain peace and tranquility in the area near Pratichi, how is such a kind of gathering permissible?”… This will be our response regarding the activities (by the protestors) since May 5, 2023,” she said.
Set up in 1921 by Rabindranath Tagore, Visva-Bharati was declared a university in 1951 and is West Bengal’s only central university. The prime minister is its chancellor.
Calcutta High Court on May 4 gave an interim stay against an eviction order of Visva-Bharati asking Sen to vacate 0.13 acres at his ancestral Santiniketan residence by May 6. An appeal for a stay on possible eviction was fixed for hearing later in the month at a court in Suri.
Visva-Bharati had sent the eviction notice to Sen on April 19, asking him to vacate 13 decimal of the 1.38 acres land of his residence within May 6. The university has been claiming that Sen is in possession of 1.38 acre of land in the Santiniketan campus, which is in excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres.
The economist in his petition to the court said that the 1.38 acres plot on which ‘Pratichi’ stands was given on lease for 99 years to his father Ashutosh Sen in October 1943 by the then Visva-Bharati general secretary Rathindranath Tagore, Gurudev’s son.
Sen had earlier moved a court in Suri against the eviction notice, but the court set May 15 as the date of hearing well after the university’s deadline to vacate the land.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

May 6, 2023
Amartya Sen approaches court against eviction notice from Visva-Bharati University

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Kolkata: Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has approached a district court in Birbhum district of West Bengal against the eviction notice issued by the Visva-Bharati University authorities in the ongoing dispute over 13 decimals of land.
The university authorities accuse Sen of illegally occupying the land within the varsity campus at Bolpur Santiniketan in the district.
The eviction notice was issued on April 20 asking the globally acclaimed economist to vacate the “disputed” 13 decimals of land by May 6. Sen is currently in the US.

On Friday, Sen’s counsel Gorachand Chakraborty informed media persons that an appeal against the eviction notice has already been filed at the district court of Suri in Birbhum district and the first hearing in the matter will be on May 15.
This week while interacting with the media persons, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee launched a scathing attack against the university authorities and even threatened to stage a sit-in demonstration in front of Sen’s residence if there is any attempt to forcefully impose the eviction.
The dispute over the 13 decimals of land started when the vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, Bidyut Chakraborty started accusing Sen of illegally occupying 1.38 acres of land which is in excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres.
However, the Nobel laureate refuted the allegation claiming the original 1.25 acres was gifted to his grandfather Late Kshitimohan Sen who was the second vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati University.
Later, Sen’s father Late Asutosh Sen, who was also a professor with the same university, purchased the remaining 13 decimals of land, which is at the centre of the dispute.

The West Bengal government has recently transferred leasehold rights of the entire 1.38 acres of land to Sen to thwart any eviction attempt by the university authorities.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 28, 2023
Land issue: Visva-Bharati hopeful Amartya Sen will respond to eviction notice by next week

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Kolkata: Visva-Bharati is hopeful that Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who is accused of illegally holding a 13-decimal plot owned by the university, will respond by next week to an eviction notice sent to him.
Otherwise, the central university said it will take any decision deemed appropriate to recover “unauthorisedly occupied land”.
The eviction notice, pasted near the main gate of Sen’s Santiniketan residence on Friday, which was also mailed to him, said that the “proceedings will be disposed of on April 19 through a final order”.

The 89-year-old economist is now abroad.
“He (Sen) is yet to respond to the notice. We will wait for a few more days… till the middle of next week as specified in the notice,” Visva-Bharati spokesperson Mahua Banerjee told PTI on Saturday.
According to the notice, Sen or his advocates or authorised representatives may remain present during the disposal and passing of the final order at 12 noon on April 19. He can also submit a written statement by 6 pm on April 18 as the “last chance”.
The university has been claiming that Sen is in possession of 1.38 acres of land on the Santiniketan campus, which is in excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres.
Denying the charges, Sen has repeatedly accused the varsity authorities of harassing him as he is a critic of several actions of Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty, and voiced his objection to certain policies of the Narendra Modi government.

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 16, 2023
Visva Bharati student gets show-cause notice for backing Amartya Sen on social media

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Kolkata: Visva Bharati university authorities have issued a show-cause notice to one of its students after the latter supported Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on social media over the current row where the university Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty has accused the economist of unauthorised occupation of the university land in excess of his legal entitlement.
The student, Somanath Sou, is an active member of the CPI(M)’s student wing Students’ Federation of India (SFI). Recently he made a post on social media condemning the attitude of the university authorities towards Sen in the current row.
He said in his post that this is nothing but unnecessarily harassing the globally acclaimed educationist and economist. According to him, certain elements are constantly advising the vice-chancellor that by harassing Sen he would get the support of the BJP.
According to Sou, from the land records it is clear that Sen is legally entitled to the entire land including the 13 decimals of land which the university authorities claim to be held by him beyond his legal entitlement. “The real truth must be revealed since in this process an aged and globally acclaimed educationist is being harassed unnecessarily. The university authorities should come out with papers in support of their baseless claims,” he wrote in his social media post.
Soon after that he was slapped with the show-cause asking him why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for being vocal against the university despite being a student there. In the notice Sou has been warned of strong disciplinary action if he repeats a similar action in the future.
On February 11, Sen’s advocate issued a legal notice to the university authorities asking the latter to tender a public apology for their derogatory comments in connection with the continuing row over 13 decimals of land occupied by him. “The university authorities should apologise for making such derogatory comments. Else appropriate legal action will be taken,” said Sen’s counsel Gorachand Chakroborty.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 14, 2023