VB alumnus Probir Kumar Ghosh is new vice-chancellor
Times of India | 19 March 2025
Santiniketan: Centre on Tuesday appointed agriculture scientist Dr Probir Kumar Ghosh as Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor for five years. Ghosh is the first VB alumnus outside the Tagore family to return to his alma mater as its VC.
Visva-Bharati was functioning with acting VCs since Bidyut Chakraborty retired in Nov 2023. Ghosh, who graduated from VB in 1985, returns to his alma mater after four decades. Ghosh, 63, was born in Murshidabad's Kumarpur and has served at ICAR's National Institute of Biotic Stress Management in Chhattisgarh's Raipur.
Ghosh's appointment was sent to the VB registrar by the education ministry on Tuesday. It stated that President Droupadi Murmu, in her position as the visitor, Visva-Bharati, has appointed Ghosh for a five-year tenure.
Ghosh, who is now in Delhi, told TOI over the phone: "I received the information (on his appointment). I will be reaching Santiniketan soon." Ghosh said he would speak in detail once he assumed charge, adding that he was a VB student himself (1981-85) and did his schooling in Bengal.
Ghosh moved to GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, after his studies in VB. It was in this university he completed his post-graduation and then his PhD. Ghosh worked as a researcher in multiple central research bodies, including the Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, and then extensively at ICAR. His schooling was in Murshidabad, where he studied at Bhagirathpur High School and Domkal BT High School.
Ghosh's appointment comes after a controversy-ridden tenure of Chakraborty. Chakraborty had repeated run-ins with Bengal govt, accused Amartya Sen of illegally acquiring 1.3 acres of VB land, asking him to vacate it, and over the plaques announcing that Santiniketan was a Unesco World Heritage Site.
After Chakraborty's tenure, the most senior VB academic was functioning as the acting VC. The post-Chakraborty phase also witnessed tempers cooling down with VB allowing Poush Mela on the campus grounds. With Ghosh, a VB alumnus, returning to helm the university, senior academics and students were expectant that he would steer VB back to its core roots, as Tagore envisaged.