A sit-in organised by the ruling Trinamool Congress near the ancestral house of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to protest against an eviction notice by Visva-Bharati University to the economist continued for the third day on Sunday.
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The central university has claimed that Sen, who is now abroad, is illegally occupying 0.13 acres out of the total 1.38-acre plot in the Santiniketan campus. The economist has moved court against the notice.
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Minister Chandranath Sinha and councillors of the local Bolpur Municipality were found on the dais. A section of residents and local TMC leaders took part in the demonstration during which folk singers also performed.
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Rabindra Bhavana Museum, located close to Sen’s residence 'Pratichi', remained closed on Saturday and Sunday. Visva Bharati authorities on May 4 issued a notice in this regard citing “unavoidable circumstances”.
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On Saturday, several intellectuals of the state including filmmaker Goutam Ghosh and painters Suvaprasanna and Jogen Choudhury took part in the demonstration. A rally and a sit-in on the issue were held on Friday also.
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Visva-Bharati authorities had earlier informed the local administration to see that the academic atmosphere of the university is not hampered by the protests against the notice against Sen.
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Calcutta High Court on May 4 gave an interim stay against an eviction order of Visva-Bharati asking Sen to vacate 0.13 acres at his ancestral Santiniketan residence by May 6. An appeal for a stay on possible eviction was fixed for hearing on May 15 at a court in Suri in Birbhum district.
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Founded by Asia’s first Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a central university and an institution of national importance by an Act of Parliament in 1951. It is the sole central university of West Bengal.