Visva-Bharati University has posted an eviction notice on the boundary wall of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s ancestral home in Santiniketan, requesting his appearance before the varsity authorities on April 19. However, this notice is in contradiction with a court order that instructs the police to maintain the status quo on the land owned by Professor Sen. The land dispute began due to a ‘disputed portion’ of land in possession of Sen within the university premises, leading an executive magistrate at Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district to order police intervention to maintain peace. The Nobel laureate economist’s counsel expressed apprehension of a breach of law and order over the probable eviction drive by the university authorities against Sen over that disputed portion of land, prompting the executive magistrate to order the officer-in-charge of the local Santiniketan Police Station to investigate any possibility of a breach of peace.
The dispute centers on just 13 decimals of land. The vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati University, Bidyut Chakraborty, accused Sen of illegally occupying 1.38 acres of land which is in excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres. However, Sen has refuted the allegation, claiming that the original 1.25 acres was gifted to his grandfather, Late Kshitimohan Sen, who was the second vice-chancellor of Visva-Bharati University. Sen’s father, Late Asutosh Sen, who was also a professor with the same university, purchased the remaining 13 decimals of land, which is at the center of the dispute.
The West Bengal government has recently transferred leasehold rights of the entire 1.38 acres of land to Sen to prevent any eviction attempt by the university authorities. Despite this, Visva-Bharati University has posted an eviction notice on Sen’s ancestral home. Sen’s counsel had urged the executive magistrate to maintain the status quo over the entire land under possession of his client.
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