Count me as your sister in your just war against intolerance: Mamata writes to Amartya Sen

Kolkata: Extending her support to his war against 'intolerance and totalitarianism', Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Nobel laureate Prof Amartya Sen expressing her pain and solidarity as some 'invaders' in Visva Bharati were raising 'baseless allegations' about his familial properties.

Banerjee wrote to the Nobel laureate a day after expressing her anguish against the saffron brigade for attacking Sen by raising baseless allegations because the latter does not support the 'BJP's ideology'.

Visva Bharati had written to the state government a few days back alleging that some of its plots were wrongly recorded in favour of some 'unauthorised occupants.' The varsity had prepared a list of such 'occupants', which included the name of the eminent economist.

Vehemently reacting to such 'baseless allegations', Banerjee stated in her letter to Sen — referring him as 'respected Amartya da' — that "some nouveau invaders in Visva Bharati have now started raising surprising and completely baseless allegations about your familial properties, etc."

"This pains me, and I want to express my solidarity with you in your battles against the bigotry of the majoritarian in this country, the battles that have made you an enemy of these forces of untruth," she wrote.

"Kindly count me as your sister and friend in your just war against intolerance and totalitarianism. Let us not be daunted by their untrue accusations, and unfair attacks. We shall overcome," she wrote.

The letter was addressed to Amartya Sen's Santiniketan address. In the case of Professor Sen, the varsity alleged that the unauthorised occupancy is of 13 decimals. Another 125 decimals had been leased to his father Late Ashutosh Sen by Visva Bharati.

Expressing her 'surprise and anguish' over some recent developments 'alluding to Sen's ancestral links in Santiniketan', Banerjee in her letter clearly stated about being well aware of his 'family's deep and organic linkages with Santiniketan.' "Your maternal grandfather, the revered scholar Kshitimohan Sen, was one of the early leading settlers in Santiniketan, while your father Ashutosh Sen, a noted educationist and public administrator, had his famed house Pratichi built in Santiniketan about eight decades back. Yours have been a family weaved in the culture and fabric of Santiniketan, inalienably," she wrote.

In this connection, the Chief Minister urged the intellectuals to protest against the insult to the Nobel laureate. She also hit out at the BJP for crossing all limits and insulting great personalities.