The committee will also review the already created Hindi and English texts of the new plaque to ensure that they...
Digital Desk: On Monday, Visva Bharati University announced the formation of a committee to finalise the new Bengali plaque to replace the previous one commemorating Santiniketan's UNESCO recognition as a heritage site.
The committee will also review the already created Hindi and English texts of the new plaque to ensure that they are by the union education ministry's directions, central university spokesperson Mahua Banerjee said in an official statement.
She stated that the acting Vice-Chancellor, Sanjoy Kumar Mallick, has been advised that the installation of the official text of the UNESCO statement recognising Santiniketan as a heritage site is of "immediate priority," and that the ministry has been assured that the university has no intention of delaying work.
The ministry was informed that a committee was formed soon after the draught statement was received to finalise the Bengali version of the plaque text and to look through the texts for those in Hindi and English for parity of statement across the three languages, as the university does not want any unnecessary delay, Banerjee said.
A controversy erupted after three plaques were installed in the aftermath of Santiniketan's UNESCO heritage status on September 17, which did not include the name of Rabindranath Tagore but did include the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the chancellor of the central university, and then vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty.
Ashramites, students, and people linked with the site, as well as political organisations such as the Trinamool Congress and the BJP, had vigorously opposed the relocation.
The TMC held a sit-in near the university campus in response to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's outburst, in which she gave the Visva Bharati a "deadline to begin the process of correcting the anomalies." Mallick, she added, was called to a recent meeting in Delhi when various matters, including the plaque issue, were discussed. He was also asked to expedite the procedure for the appointment of a regular VC and to prioritise the subject.
"The ministry was informed that a single-agenda meeting of the Visva Bharati executive council has been announced and that permission has been sought from the chancellor, as per protocol, for a meeting of the sansad (Court), both necessary to initiate the process," the press release said.
The temporary VC was also requested to oversee the "dignified and graceful exit" of former VC Bidyut Chakraborty, whose tenure ended on November 8, according to Banerjee's statement.
Chakraborty's legal counsel informed him via e-mail on November 15 that the former VC must remain at the official house till November 30. "The university is investigating this allegation by the rules," the statement stated.
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