Crossed out

Sir — Is it a mere coincidence that the blue ticks signifying ‘verified’ Twitter accounts started to disappear from the social media platform hours after Elon Musk’s spaceship went up in flames? Musk is known to be impulsive and petty — he once fired a Twitter employee after buying the company because the latter had criticised the technocrat. He is living proof of the Harvard study which revealed that most male business leaders are afflicted by hubris, which they mask as charisma. But Musk has got one thing wrong. By monetising the blue tick, he has actually ended up reducing its value. Since blue ticks became available in exchange for money, hundreds of thousands of accounts now carry the mark. They are now a dime a dozen and not worth bothering with.

Piyali Sadhukhan,Calcutta

Counterview

Sir — Founded by one of the most illustrious sons of India, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Visva-Bharati does not require the glory of an individual to spread its ideological motto of universal humanism or vasudhaiva kutumbakam. Unfortunately, in West Bengal, the self-proclaimed moral custodians of bangaliana tend to privilege an individual at the cost of a great institution like Visva-Bharati. Despite having experienced the outcome of complacency, Bengalis appear to have conveniently forgotten the fact that Bengal was hailed during the nationalist phase as a harbinger of politically and ideologically innovative and inspiring models for humanity. The reasons for this decadence are plenty: some of them can be located in the desire to fulfil partisan interests by those who matter in decision-making, leading to individual interests being prioritised over those of the state and institutions that made Bengal proud not so many decades ago.

Arghya Sengupta (“Fall from grace”, April 20) appears to have been annoyed with the Visva-Bharati administration in view of the strong steps taken to recover illegally-occupied land. Let me acquaint the readers with some basic facts that are relevant to the issue at hand. Visva-Bharati had 1,134 acres of land, which it acquired over time out of donations by philanthropists and through purchase by the institution. When the new administration took over in 2018, I was told that the landsharks have already grabbed 77 acres of Visva-Bharati’s land. We wrote to these landgrabbers with a request to return the land; the request was not heeded. We undertook many other means, like holding processions with banners of request as well as a Gandhian mode of protest by resorting to 12 hours of fasting in which many of the university staff participated. It did not work.

Visva-Bharati undertook efforts to reclaim the encroached land in response to directions from the Union government as well as the university’s annual audits. We have succeeded in reclaiming 12 acres of land since 2019. We have evicted those who built temples on our land by risking annoying those who are institutionally empowered to harm Visva-Bharati. We who are emotionally associated with this heritage centre of learning never back-tracked. Our purpose is not to ensure individual well-being but the sustenance of an institution for which Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and his elder son, Rathindranath, sacrificed everything.

Let me now focus on why Visva-Bharati has deployed all possible legal means to reclaim the illegally-occupied land by Professor Amartya Sen. Let it be made clear that he is one of those who belong to the group of landgrabbers at the cost of Visva-Bharati. Let it also be emphasised that the Sen family is one of the beneficiaries in Santiniketan and also sold land to Gurudev Tagore when he required land for building his “vessel of treasure, Visva-Bharati.” It has been mentioned that since the papers claiming that Professor Sen is the legal owner of the land in question were given by the hon’ble chief minister of West Bengal, our charge is invalid. I have my reservation about this kind of logic, which justifies the argument that whatever those wielding authority do is the axiomatic truth although the legal document and the transfer deed suggest otherwise. We have nothing personal against him. We are also indebted to him intellectually. But does that justify the fact that he can own a piece of land illegally? No media trial will prevent Visva-Bharati from following legal courses to reclaim the land and, if necessary, Visva-Bharati will not restrain itself from taking other legally-endorsed steps that may cause further embarrassment not only to him but also to Visva-Bharati.

Our eviction order is in the public domain. Those who are criticising Visva-Bharati are requested to go through it and then comment as a responsible citizen of this great country, which is governed by the rule of law. We urge the hon’ble chief minister of West Bengal to take care of the interests of an institution for which Gurudev left no stone unturned during his lifetime. Once it became a Central university and an Institution of National Importance, those who were responsible for safeguarding this renowned institution also worked hard to discharge their roles since it is a jewel in India’s crown. The law is uniform for those involved in grabbing public property. We, thus, expect that it will be the same regardless of who the person is. If those who are otherwise respected evade legal restrictions by pampering the political authority, then those with nearly no one to stand by them will lose faith in India’s legal system. What is most tragic is that these individuals who thrive in the West by selling Visva-Bharati and Indian poverty hardly contribute to the well-being of either. They are spared as they know how to change their political loyalty for social and pecuniary benefit. Visva-Bharati’s endeavour is just a baby step to let these individuals know that the oft-quoted slogan, ‘might is right’, may not always be an adequate shield against humiliation and disgrace.

We are committed to protect Visva-Bharati. We are committed to protect the dignity of the illustrious sons and daughters of Mother India provided they also discharge their role in proving that they don’t mind sacrificing their partisan interests for the sake of the institution that stands in a class by itself. Our objective is not to defame Professor Amartya Sen and those who are causing irreparable damage to Visva-Bharati, but simply to urge them to avoid playing with fire because Visva-Bharati shall not avoid taking unpleasant steps despite being a victim of an orchestrated campaign by those who are likely to be hard-hit soon.

Mahua Banerjee,Public Relations Officer, Visva-Bharati University

Parting shot

Sir — Aaradhya Bachchan has sued some YouTube tabloid channels and moved her case to the Delhi High Court for false claims regarding her health and life. Being a minor, she has sought an injunction on fake reports, some of which even stated that she had died. The incident highlights our disregard for children’s privacy, well-being and agency. Accessibility to others via social media platforms and media coverage — especially where star kids are concerned — has blurred boundaries and ethics.

Taranjit Kaur,Patiala, Punjab