Santiniketan outcry after VB notice to Amartya Sen

SANTINIKETAN: Visva-Bharati's order to evict Amartya Sen from 13 decimals of land - a part of the 1.38 acre plot on which his ancestral home, Pratichi, stands - evoked strong reactions in Santiniketan on Thursday. VB authorities, however, were unfazed and said law would take its own course.Tagore scholar and former teacher of the university, Amitrasudan Bhattacharya, said: "It is very unfortunate that in the Visva-Bharati of Tagore and Gandhi force will be applied to evict Bengal's second Nobel laureate. I appeal to he intellectuals of Kolkata to come here and make a human wall if they try to forcibly vacate the land. I will lead the resistance from the front."Anil Konar, secretary, Santiniketan Trust, said: "The family of Amartya Sen has a long relationship with Visva-Bharati. To apply any force to vacate this small piece of land is not desired. Initiative should be taken to resolve the impasse either by amicable discussion or by court order. If the university authorities apply force, the peace and serenity of the ashram may be disturbed."Former officiating VC Sabuj Kali Sen said, "This is very unfortunate. Amartya Sen is a respectable person. The issue could have been resolved through dialogues. This kind of activity was not desirable from an institution like Visva-Bharati."Sen, or his lawyers, were not immediately available for comment.On Wednesday, Visva-Bharati, in an eviction order under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971, asked Amartya Sen to vacate 13 decimals of land by May 6, or be forcibly evicted. The VB had turned down Sen's representation seeking time till June when he is scheduled to return to India and visit his home in Santiniketan.The VB order, however, does not mention a separate order of status quo by the Bolpur executive magistrate on a separate proceeding under Section 145, CrpC. The magistrate had asked police to enforce the status quo till June 6. The state government, too, has updated the entire 1.38 acre of the land, including the 13 decimals, in Sen's name in its record.VB in its Wednesday's order said: "Unauthorised occupation over a public property (especially educational institutions run out of tax payers' money), however long it may be, does not and should not create any possessory right in favour of any occupant; otherwise, no public institution, or road, drain etc. will be spared by encroachers. Unauthorised occupation of public premises should be discouraged and prevented by any means."(With inputs by Poulami Roy Banerjee)