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Narenda Modi at centre of storm over university project
An ambitious project to revive an ancient centre of Buddhist learning in one of India’s poorest areas has descended into acrimony, with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of blocking his second term as chancellor of the fledgling institution.
Mr Sen, a Nobel Prize-winning economist whose scholarship extends to philosophy and humanities, has been a champion of Nalanda University, which he says could spark an intellectual renaissance in India and draw students from across Asia. But Mr Sen has also been a vocal critic of Mr Modi, declaring in 2013 that the then chief minister of Gujarat was “not fit to be prime minister”.
In an open letter published in Indian newspapers on Friday, Mr Sen, whose term as Nalanda’s chancellor ends in July, said he had withdrawn his candidature for a second term, saying he did not believe Mr Modi’s government wanted him in the job.
He accused New Delhi of delaying the approval of his reappointment, which was recommended in January by Nalanda’s governing board, whose members include George Yeo, a former foreign minister of Singapore, Lord Desai, the Indian-born British economist, and prominent academics from Japan, China and elsewhere.
“Non-action is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision when the government has, in principle, the power to act, or not act,” Mr Sen wrote. “It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the chancellor of Nalanda University after this July, and technically, it has the power to do so.”
The letter bemoaned that “academic governance in India remains so deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government.”
“Non-action is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision when the government has, in principle, the power to act, or not act”
- Nobel laureate Amartya Sen
But Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry which oversees Nalanda, said his ministry had not received the governing board’s approved minutes to act on them. Mr Akbaruddin also said the board had approved two options: reappoint Mr Sen, or create a panel of three candidates, from whom India’s President Pranab Mukherjee could then choose a new chancellor.
Unveiled in 2010, the Nalanda project is an effort to set up a world-class university near the ruins of the original centre of Buddhist learning, which was founded in the third century AD, and drew students from across Asia until it was sacked by invading Turkic forces in 1193. The red-brick ruins are located in a remote location in Bihar, one of modern India’s most backward and impoverished states.
The university project, which has been promised financial support from Japan, China, Singapore and Australia, is still in its early stages. It opened its doors for its first classes in September with 10 faculty members and 15 students studying in just two departments – historical studies and ecology and environment.
The project is not without critics. Devesh Kapur, director of the University of Pennsylvania Centre for the Advanced Study of India, said the idea of building a prestigious institution in such an isolated, backward region was a “boondoggle”.
Others say Nalanda will struggle to attract high-quality long-term faculty, given the lack of physical and social infrastructure. “It is not the right place to set up an international university,” said one Indian academic, who asked not to named. “You have got to induce people to live there. What about if they have kids, or spouses who need a job? It has got to be attractive for a career and family point of view.”
Narenda Modi at centre of storm over university project
An ambitious project to revive an ancient centre of Buddhist learning in one of India’s poorest areas has descended into acrimony, with Nobel laureate Amartya Sen accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of blocking his second term as chancellor of the fledgling institution.
Mr Sen, a Nobel Prize-winning economist whose scholarship extends to philosophy and humanities, has been a champion of Nalanda University, which he says could spark an intellectual renaissance in India and draw students from across Asia. But Mr Sen has also been a vocal critic of Mr Modi, declaring in 2013 that the then chief minister of Gujarat was “not fit to be prime minister”.
In an open letter published in Indian newspapers on Friday, Mr Sen, whose term as Nalanda’s chancellor ends in July, said he had withdrawn his candidature for a second term, saying he did not believe Mr Modi’s government wanted him in the job.
He accused New Delhi of delaying the approval of his reappointment, which was recommended in January by Nalanda’s governing board, whose members include George Yeo, a former foreign minister of Singapore, Lord Desai, the Indian-born British economist, and prominent academics from Japan, China and elsewhere.
“Non-action is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision when the government has, in principle, the power to act, or not act,” Mr Sen wrote. “It is hard for me not to conclude that the government wants me to cease being the chancellor of Nalanda University after this July, and technically, it has the power to do so.”
The letter bemoaned that “academic governance in India remains so deeply vulnerable to the opinions of the ruling government.”
“Non-action is a time-wasting way of reversing a board decision when the government has, in principle, the power to act, or not act”
- Nobel laureate Amartya Sen
But Syed Akbaruddin, spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry which oversees Nalanda, said his ministry had not received the governing board’s approved minutes to act on them. Mr Akbaruddin also said the board had approved two options: reappoint Mr Sen, or create a panel of three candidates, from whom India’s President Pranab Mukherjee could then choose a new chancellor.
Unveiled in 2010, the Nalanda project is an effort to set up a world-class university near the ruins of the original centre of Buddhist learning, which was founded in the third century AD, and drew students from across Asia until it was sacked by invading Turkic forces in 1193. The red-brick ruins are located in a remote location in Bihar, one of modern India’s most backward and impoverished states.
The university project, which has been promised financial support from Japan, China, Singapore and Australia, is still in its early stages. It opened its doors for its first classes in September with 10 faculty members and 15 students studying in just two departments – historical studies and ecology and environment.
The project is not without critics. Devesh Kapur, director of the University of Pennsylvania Centre for the Advanced Study of India, said the idea of building a prestigious institution in such an isolated, backward region was a “boondoggle”.
Others say Nalanda will struggle to attract high-quality long-term faculty, given the lack of physical and social infrastructure. “It is not the right place to set up an international university,” said one Indian academic, who asked not to named. “You have got to induce people to live there. What about if they have kids, or spouses who need a job? It has got to be attractive for a career and family point of view.”
