ICHR chairman may get Nalanda Univ Chancellor post

The Council of Historical Research (ICHR) chairman Sudershan Rao, who had once resigned over no honorarium issue, is likely to get plum post as Chancellor of Nalanda University. After a go ahead signal from Prime Minister’s Office, the Human Resource Development Ministry is buzzed with the process to finalise Rao’s name for Nalanda University’s chancellor post. 

According to sources, the process is almost in final stage and name of Rao is likely can be announced anytime. The post of Chancellor of prestigious university is lying vacant after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, the first Chancellor of the varsity, had resigned in February 2015. 

The current ICHR chairman Rao had quit the post in November 2015 after the HRD Ministry had denied an honorarium of Rs 1.5 lakh per month to him. Given his past association with the Sangh-linked Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, Rao is seen as very close to the Sangh Parivar.

According to sources, Sen’s association with Nalanda University since 2007 ended, after President Pranab Mukherjee, who is Visitor of the varsity, approved the constitution of governing board of the university in accordance with Section 7 of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 on November 21. Sen, who was the part of Nalanda Mentors Group (NMG), continued as governing body member after he had stepped from the Chancellor post.

“The Centre has also removed former Harvard professor and current Trinamool Congress MP Sugata Bose and UK-based economist Lord Meghnad Desai from newly constituted governing body,” the source said, adding that final list of members of new governing body of the varsity would be announced very soon. 

The sources further added that the newly governing board would have Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, five members from among the member states (India, China, Australia, Laos PDR and Thailand) which provide maximum financial assistance during a period of three years.