Bolpur: Amid a war of words between the Visva-Bharati University and Bharat Ratna and nobel laureate Amartya Sen, agitating students of the varsity are set to call on Sen over what they termed as the “deteriorating educational standards” at the varsity, sources said on Tuesday. Sources said that at least 100 students of Visva-Bharati University will call on Amartya Sen at his 'Pratichi' house in Santiniketan on Wednesday July 5.
It is learnt that the students will take up the “deterioration of the educational environment including the educational standards of Visva-Bharati University during the tenure of Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty”. The meeting of the agitating students with Prof Sen gains significance in the backdrop of dispute between Sen and the Visva-Bharati administration over the former's Santiniketan home.
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Vice-Chancellor also faced the wrath by calling Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen a 'land grabber'. Significantly, during current Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty's tenure, students, professors and even the residents of Bolpur-Santiniketan have been seen repeatedly protesting against the varsity authorities' decisions.
Traditional events like Basanta Utsav and Paush Mela have been suspended at the varsity. During Chakraborty's tenure, Visva-Bharati's education standard in NIRF ranking has dropped several notches. Besides, Bidyut Chakraborty has been embroiled in controversies by bringing BJP leaders to hold seminars on various political issues.
It can be recalled that in Jan. this year, the registrar of the Visva Bharati University had shot a letter to Amartya Sen saying that his Santiniketan residence had been built on Viswa Bharti land. The varsity also suggested to undertake a joint survey in this regard.
