Professor Suranjan Das, the outgoing Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University, deserved a respectful send-off not least because he is headed for a distinguished campus that has regretfully been roiled by student violence and police overkill. That said, he could have  been a little forthright on the day of the outrage. Twenty-fours later, he has admitted that the heritage of the university has been tarnished… without alluding to the vandalism perpetrated by the Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad. In stark contrast to the happenings  in Jadavpur last September, he was circumspect enough not to have summoned the police to countenance last Wednesday&’s vandalism. It might be convenient for the ruling party and its government to argue that the  mayhem was merely coincidental with the impending change of guard.

The fact that it happened is deeply unfortunate as the historian prepares to take the bow before shifting across the city to Jadavpur University. Whether or not the higher education department intends to appoint a Mamata-acolyte to the Chair need not detain us here.  Prof Das was certified as an “outstanding VC” by the previous Governor/Chancellor, Mr MK Narayanan; JU&’s gain will without question be CU&’s loss. Contextualised with his stellar performance since 2008, the outrage on Wednesday afternoon appears to be a parting shot of Mamata Banerjee&’s  party.  On closer reflection, the violent demonstration was not targeted at the VC; it was the West Bengal College and University Teachers Association that was reduced to a helpless object of student fury. The Trinamul-sponsored  hooliganism at the College Street campus, the grievous assault on faculty members, and the reported heckling of the VC were altogether reminiscent of the inexplicable party-sponsored vandalism in next-door Presidency University in April 2013. More accurately, the issue that ignited yet another bout of campus violence ought not to have mattered to the students – the suspension of the finance officer for alleged irregularities. It is a strictly administrative issue, and the action taken is the prerogative of the authorities.

It is hard not to wonder whether Trinamul&’s student front was instigated by the party&’s education cell. For minister Partha Chatterjee to say that he “won’t allow  putting up of  posters of  political parties and hooliganism” inside the CU campus verges on sanctimonious cant. Both have been institutionalised in campuses across the state, and as often as not with mortal repercussions.  At the core of the incident was the scuffle between the teachers’ association and Trinamul&’s Chhatra Parishad.

The students have reacted with wholly unwarranted indignation. To tacitly condone the  involvement of Trinamul&’s footsoldiers would be a convoluted exercise in self-deception. To blame the CPI-M, as did the TMCP&’s president, would have been ludicrous were it not for the profound implications. Altogether, a sorry end  to the Vice-Chancellor&’s tenure.