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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.