Until Monday (August 4, 2025), University of Calcutta officiating Vice-Chancellor Santa Datta (De) was little known outside academic circles. But following a decision to uphold the university’s autonomy against a request from the State’s Higher Education Department, Prof. Datta (De) has received wide appreciation from both faculty and students.
The Department had written to the university asking it to reschedule B.Com and LLB examinations slated for August 28, which coincides with the foundation day of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, the students’ wing of the Trinamool Congress. Prof. Datta (De) convened a Syndicate meeting on Monday, where the majority opinion was in favour of continuing with the examinations as scheduled.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Prof. Datta (De) said that it was “unprecedented” for the State government to write to the university over the foundation day of a student organisation. She added that by adhering to the schedule, the university had safeguarded its institutional autonomy. She also said that it was the government’s responsibility to ensure normal traffic movement on that day, as it does when Opposition parties call for strikes.
“This is one of the most courageous decisions she took as V-C and such kind of courage and spine is the rarest of rare things among today’s Bengalis. She herself is a message and she taught all of us what should be the responsibility of a good citizen of the country. Politicians and the ruling party have very short and narrow vision, they can do anything immoral to be in power, that makes the role of teachers very significant in such times,” Mrinmoy Pramanick, a professor at the university, said.
