Jadavpur V-C latest to quit Bengal’s ‘political’ campuses
The resignation of Professor Souvik Bhattacharya as the vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University has brought to the fore lack of autonomy and political interference in academic institutions in West Bengal. The situation is as bad as it was in the previous Left Front regime, with five vice-chancellors having quit their posts before Prof Bhattacharya since Mamata Banerjee took over.
While Bhattacharya cited personal reasons, his comments about "unfulfilled dreams", "importance of holding on to honesty, integrity and ethics" and that there were "impediments in working" were clear pointers to what led to such a step. It was no coincidence that he didn't keep Education Minister Bratya Basu posted while sending his resignation to Governor M K Narayanan. Before quitting, he had been trying to ensure academic decisions at the university were taken by those qualified to do so.
In October 2011, Amita Chatterjee had quit expressing disinterest in renewing her tenure as V-C of the Presidency University. A month earlier, Subrata Pal had stepped down as V-C of Burdwan University, saying the environment had become inhospitable for an academic. He said the problems during the Left regime had got worse under the new government.
In August 2011, Professor Nanda Dulal Paria resigned as the V-C of Vidyasagar University, reportedly irked at the meddling in academic affairs by non-teaching staff associations affiliated to TMC.
Gour Banga University in Malda saw two resignations in quick succession. After being assaulted by members of the TMC and Congress students' wings, V-C Gopa Dutta decided to quit in March 2012, officially blaming ill-health. Achintya Biswas, who took over as the V-C on May 14 that year, quit in July 2013. While his resignation was not accepted, on September 13, he again sent his papers to Narayanan, saying his ill-health didn't permit stay at Malda. Insiders said he was not able to cope with political pressure.
Presidency also saw an exodus of professors who had joined the institution in the past few months. An incident of violence in which men bearing TMC flags entered the campus and vandalised the Baker Laboratory was a final break for many on the promise to make the institute a centre of excellence. While universities in Bengal have always seen political intervention, insiders say it has never been so blatant.
