Intellectuals to hold stir against Amartya Sen’s humiliation in Santiniketan

kolkata: Come May 5 and a section of the city’s intellectuals under the banner Samajik Marjada Rakshya Samity will stage a cultural protest in Santiniketan against the humiliation of Amartya Sen over the Pratichi land dispute. On April 19, Visva Bharati University asked the Nobel Laureate to vacate 13 decimals of its land by May 6 or face forceful eviction. Meanwhile, on Friday, Sen moved court against the eviction order of Visva Bharati.

From doctors, educationists, and authors to thespians, several intellectuals of the city have condemned Visva Bharati’s action against the Bharat Ratna recipient.

The intellectuals have demanded an unconditional apology for the constant insult faced by Sen regarding the land dispute.

Thespian Rudraprasad Sengupta said, “We all should protest against this kind of fear psychosis. They cannot stop us from protesting.”

Theatre personality Debshankar Haldar is also appalled with the way the renowned economist has been embarrassed in public.

“We should learn from Amartya Sen about humanity, but then we are more interested in decimals of the land than the genius himself.”

Abhijit Chowdhury criticised the Visva Bharati authorities for accusing Sen.

“It is a matter of great shame that a person like Amartya Sen had to face such accusations. This demeans an institution like Visva Bharati,” he said.

Recently, more than 120 famous personalities have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the chancellor of Visva Bharati regarding the eviction notice to the economist.

Signed by former chief economist of World Bank Kaushik Basu, musician Debojyoti Mishra, educationist Pabitra Sarkar, poet Mandakranta Sen, director Kamaleswar Mukhopadhyay, and actors Sabyasachi Chakraborty and Paran Bandopadhyay, the letter condemned the action of the Visva Bharati.

“The kind of behaviour by an esteemed university like Visva Bharati is unexpected and appalling. We condemn this harassment, humiliation, and misdemeanor against a respected economist,”

the letter read.

“Sen inherited the leased land and now the varsity is set to evict the economist from his ancestral home, which is an insult at its lowest for all Bengalis, Indians in front of the entire world,” the letter read further.

Meanwhile, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she would go and hold a sit-in if the Visva Bharati authorities bulldoze the Nobel laureate’s house in Santiniketan.