Amartya Sen bats for ‘Hindu-Muslim unity’ ahead of Ram Mandir consecration
Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has emphasised the importance of Bengal standing up for secularism, saying it does not always happen nowadays “despite the long secular tradition of this region”.
“The major issue in Bengal today is to stand up for secularism, which needs strong defence, that sometimes it does not get, despite the long secular tradition of this region. Bengal needs a politics that is independent of religious sectarianism,” the celebrated economist said in an email to Sudipta Bhattacharyya, professor of economics and politics at Visva-Bharati University and president of Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association.
“It would be a mistake to let the force of religion-neutral politics be lost, and, most importantly, we must not lose the united identity of Bengal,” he wrote.
He went on to write to Professor Bhattacharya that he was thinking of his grandfather, Kshiti Mohan Sen in this respect.
“The importance of Hindu-Muslim unity is not primarily about tolerating each other, but rather about Hindus and Muslims working together, as they have historically done, to build rich literature, major architecture, exceptional artistry, and so many other products of joint work,” wrote Sen.
As president of the Faculty Association, Sudipta Bhattacharyya strongly supported Amartya Sen last year when Visva-Bharati came up with the claim that a part of the latter’s ancestral property in Santiniketan stood on university land. The case is now sub judice.
On January 22, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, triggering a Hindutva frenzy. Amartya Sen’s comments assume a lot of importance in this respect.
