New Delhi:
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen has said he will not continue as the chancellor of Bihar's Nalanda University for a second term . The decision seems to be a political one, as Sen feels the government does not want him to continue after his current term ends in July.
Sen announced his decision to opt out through a five-page letter to the governing board of the university, even though the Board had unanimously voted to re-elect him on January 13.
“It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the Chancellor of Nalanda University after this July,” Sen said in the letter, adding that academics in the country remains “deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling Government.”
Sen wrote that it was the delay in the government's decision to respond on the issue to the University because of which he was taking this step. “This delay as well as the uncertainty involved is leading, in effect, to a decisional gap, which is not helpful to Nalanda University’s governance and its academic progress. I have, therefore, decided that in the best interest of Nalanda University, I should exclude myself from being considered for continuing as Chancellor of Nalanda University beyond this July, despite the unanimous recommendation and urging of the Governing Board for me to continue,” the letter says.Since the Board consisted of representatives from other Asian countries like China, Japan and Singapore, the Board's decision could only be implemented after the approval of the President of India. However, according to Sen's letter, the government had not responded on the issue till now, even though the University notified the President about the decision in mid-January.