Sir — This refers to reports that the Ministry of External Affairs clarified there was no move to curtail Amartya Sen’s tenure as Chancellor of Nalanda University. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been put in the dock on the Amartya Sen episode by his critics. But Mr Sen’s conduct is also questionable. His prejudice against Prime Minister Modi became public when, in 2013, he said that he didn’t want Mr Modi to be Prime Minister.
His present outburst against the Modi regime needs to be seen in that context. In an interview to a television news channel, he said “Pranab (President of India) was keen on my appointment. If he changed his mind, it is under Government pressure”. He added that “Government officials have told me the political establishment didn’t give the go-ahead to me”.
Though Mr Sen claims to have “excluded” himself from continuing as Chancellor of Nalanda University after his present term, his interview made it clear that he was keen on a second term and was in contact with the President (or the President’s office) and his sources in the Government. Though his second term has not yet been turned down by the Government, his public statements against the Modi regime are apparently a strategic move to put pressure on the Centre.