My Nalanda exit because of Modi criticism: Amartya Sen

"As an Indian voter, it is my liberty to like a candidate or not. On the other side, it's for the board to decide on the chancellor. If the government has taken a view - I don't know whether the PM had but if he had - it would be asymmetric because it's not his role," he said.

Dr Sen, who had criticized PM Modi during last year's national election on Thursday opted out of a second term as Nalanda University Chancellor despite the governing board unanimously voting to elect him on January 13.

In a five-page letter to the board, Dr Sen said he was sad that academic governance in India remains still deeply vulnerable to opinions of the ruling government. He wrote that he decided not to continue in the post after a month of silence on the board's decision from both the President's House and the foreign ministry, which is involved because of the presence of representatives of several Asian countries in the board.

Asked whether he thought the prime minister had personally opposed his appointment, Dr Sen said, "I think it would be megalomaniacal to think the PM had a role because of my criticism of him.'In a letter to the board written with a “heavy heart,” Sen said that it was “hard for him not to conclude that the government” wanted him to “cease” being Chancellor.

The Nobel Laureate, who in 2013 has come out against then Gujarat Chief Minister and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating he did not want him to become PM,.The foreign ministry today said there was "no attempt to curtail Dr Sen's term." It claimed that it had only received an extract of the board's decision, not the minutes, so could not respond. "We can only act once we receive approved minutes of the Board. These are yet to be received by us," said foreign ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

But Amartya Sens comments have also brought brickbats.For so political a person to complain about how politicians are meddling with academic institutions is interesting.

Even assuming the Modi government is not keen on his continuing as Chancellor (we don’t know that as yet), there are good reasons to consider other options beyond Amartya Sen once his term ends this July.

First, Sen is well past 81. Why should someone this old be running a young institution? When the university formally opened for its first academic session last September, Sen did not turn up for the event.

Second, Amartya Sen has not distinguished his tenure as chairman of the board (and de facto chancellor) by setting any great example of high-minded governance. In fact, the key appointments to the university have been dogged by controversies relating to nepotism and non-transparency.

Third the Vice-Chancellor, Gopa Sabharwal, was just a reader at Delhi’s Lady Shriram College when she was appointed to the top job and given a salary of over Rs 5 lakh per month. While this may not be objectionable in a university that has a global mandate, this salary was nearly twice what the Delhi University VC was getting. The brouhaha forced her to take a cut. But despite the fact that NU is based in Rajgir, where a 450-acre campus is being planned, she is reported to be functioning out of Delhi.

Fourth many key appointments appeared to point to the influence of Upinder Singh, a historian and daughter of Sen’s friend Manmohan Singh. Soon after Gopa was appointed VC, Upinder was appointed as guest faculty at the University.

Nalanda University, which will be fully funded by the centre to the tune of over Rs 1,000 crore, deserves someone younger and more committed to the idea of reviving its past glory as a knowledge centre. It was ransacked and burnt by Muslim marauders in the 11th century AD.