KOLKATA: The Santiniketan Trust, a charitable body founded by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, has written a letter to PM Narendra Modi requesting his intervention to restrain Visva Bharati University vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty from making "obnoxious and derogatory remarks" against old-timers on the campus and alumni.
The letter to Modi, who is the chancellor of Visva Bharati, reads: "We being the trustees of the said Trust can’t allow him (Chakrabarty) to use the platform of Upasana Griha (prayer hall) to insult and humiliate the Ashramiks (old-timers), alumni and local citizens.
We appeal before your authority to restrain Bidyut Chakrabarty from doing obnoxious activities and from throwing remarks in abusive language in this Upasana Griha." The letter to Modi is said to be significant against the backdrop of the controversy in which Visva Bharati accused Nobel laureate Amartya Sen of occupying 13 decimal of lands at his ancestral home without authorisation which belonged to the central university.
The state government dismissed the varsity’s claim after examining land records. CM Mamata Banerjee met Sen at his residence and handed him over documents related to the land. The letter, however, did not mention the row between Visva Bharati and Sen. In the letter to Modi, Anil Konar, honorary secretary of the trust, said he was prompted to write the letter after around 200 people, including old-timers, teachers, students, artisans and traders of Santiniketan gave a mass petition expressing their anguish against the VC.