Death of Fresher: Who in Jadavpur University Will Take Moral Responsibility?

In the case of the mysterious death of a fresher, reportedly a victim of immense psychological ragging, the question being asked is who in the virtually headless Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University (JU) will come forward to take the moral responsibility of this tragedy.

For some time the university has been running without a vice-chancellor. The chair of one of the two pro vice-chancellors is also vacant. The registrar of the university, Snehomonju Basu was on medical leave when the mishap took place on August 10. She returned to the campus only on Monday that is four days after the incident.

Jadavpur University lost the chance of getting a permanent vice- chancellor because the recruitment was done without following the norms laid down by the University Grants Commission (UGC). After the retirement of the previous vice- chancellor, Suranjan Das things were managed somehow for three months by extending the term of Das but as an interim vice- chancellor.

Later, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose appointed the pro-vice-chancellor Amitava Dutta as the interim vice-chancellor to manage the affairs for the time being. But Dutta resigned from the post arguably because of the tiff between the Governor’s House and the state education department over the Governor’s decision to appoint interim vice- chancellors for a number of state universities.

Dutta is currently managing the affairs as a pro vice-chancellor only, with the post of the second pro vice-chancellor lying vacant following the retirement of Chiranjib Bhattacharya, who was earlier in the post.

A section of faculty members of JU has admitted that the pressure on Dutta, as the only pro vice- chancellor is too much for a single person to handle. "In such a situation what is actually happening is nothing but passing the buck," said a faculty member of JU on strict condition of anonymity.