False Claims on Ex-PM Manmohan Singh, Amartya Sen & Nalanda University Go Viral

The claims made about former PM Singh and Amartya Sen in the viral post are either misleading or false.

The viral post makes several false claims about former PM Manmohan Singh, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, and their association with the Nalanda University.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Using a passage of Hindi text, social media users are sharing posts which carry several claims about former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his connection with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, and what went on behind the reestablishment and revival of the Nalanda University in Bihar.

A lengthy claim, the viral post makes several points regarding Sen and Nalanda University. Some of these points mention that:

• Former PM Manmohan Singh was the person behind the revival of the Nalanda University in 2007 and chose economist Dr Amartya Sen to be the University's first chancellor.

• Sen, who was residing in the USA in 2007, never came to India to "run the university", but continued to draw a salary of five lakh rupees a month. He also enjoyed unlimited international trips at the university's expense as chancellor.

• Between 2007 and 2014, Sen spend ₹2,730 crores as Nalanda University's chancellor, for which he did not have to show any accounts or justification.

• In his capacity as chancellor, Sen appointed Singh's children and close friends as faculty and visiting faculty members at the university.

• After PM Narendra Modi came to power, it claims that as soon as he found out about this "legalised loot," he fired Sen and Singh's children from the University.

An archive of this post can be seen here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The Quint received a query for verifying this claim on its WhatsApp tipline.

(Archives of more posts sharing this claim can be seen here, here, here, and here.)

This report looks into the points made in this claim and explore the facts of the matter.

1. The Revival of Nalanda University

We looked for information related to reestablishment of the Nalanda University in Bihar, starting with the university's own website.

• Under a header called 'History and Revival', it mentioned that the late former President APJ Abdul Kalam brought up the topic of reviving the historic university while addressing a joint session of the Bihar Assembly in March 2006, a year prior to what is being claimed.

The idea was put forward by the late former President APJ Abdul Kalam in 2006.

(Source: Nalanda University/Altered by The Quint)

It added that the Parliament had passed the Nalanda University Act in 2010, which means that Sen could not be appointed as chancellor of the university in 2007. This is because the revival plan was put into motion three years later.

2. Who Appoints the Chancellor? What Does the Chancellor Do?

A copy of the Nalanda University Act, 2010 is accessible on the university's website.

• This document carries complete information regarding the appointments pertaining to the university, their terms, their roles, and so on.

• It mentioned that the chancellor was appointed by "the Visitor," adding that "if present," the chancellor's role involves them presiding "at the Convocations of the University held for conferring degrees and meetings of the Governing Board."

The chancellor has limited power.

(Source: Nalanda University/Screenshot)

According to this section, the chancellor at the time, Amartya Sen, could not have "run the university," as the Act does not give the chancellor those powers.

A previous section of the Act specifies that "the Visitor", who appoints the chancellor, is the President of India.

The President of India was identified as "the Visitor.

(Source: Nalanda University/Altered by The Quint)

Another section of the Act pertains to the powers of the vice chancellor, who it states is the "principal academic and executive officer of the University," effectively being the person who 'runs' the university.

The vice chancellor "runs" the university.

(Source: Nalanda University/Altered by The Quint)

3. Sen’s Monthly Salary and ‘Unlimited International Trips'

The Quint had previously debunked this part of the claim in a 2019 report.

• During his time as chancellor, Sen received "no salary whatsoever from Nalanda University," said the University in a statement, reported The Hindu, adding that all of Sen's work was done in an honorary capacity.

• The statement was issued based on former MP Subramanian Swamy's allegations against Sen, which also included the claim about the latter enjoying free trips on Air India for work related to the university.

• Responding to this allegation, Nalanda University said that Sen, who sometimes makes use of his free Air India pass, did not do so in connection to the university or its "emoluments."

The university categorically denied several claims in its statement.

(Source: The Hindu/Screenshot)

Sen's free travel arrangement on the formerly national carrier was a "gift from the Government of India," as former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given it to Sen after he won his Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998, it said.

A 2015 interview by The Times of India confirmed this, stating that "Vajpayee had expressed his appreciation" towards Sen winning the Nobel Prize by "granting Sen free travel on all Indian trains and on Air India."

Sen also showed TOI a "privilege card" that entitled him this travel, given to him by Vajpayee in January 1999.

Sen was given a "privilege card" by former PM Vajpayee.

(Source: The Times of India/Screenshot)

4. Spending ₹2,730 Crores While Chancellor Between 2007 and 2014

As seen earlier in this report, the work to revive Nalanda University was set in motion in 2010, when the Act was passed.

• Additionally, while Sen was a part of the Nalanda Mentor Group since 2007, he was not officially appointed as chancellor until 2012.

• The amount of  ₹2,730 crores being spent according to the claim was actually a part of a proposal by the Ministry of External Affairs.

• According to a response in the Parliament by former Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh, the MEA allocated ₹2,727.1 crores as financial support for Nalanda University that was set for a period until financial year 2021-22.

Singh said that the money was allocated by the government from the MEA's Plan Budget.

(Source: MEA/Altered by The Quint)

• It added that Nalanda University's accounts are "subject to audit by the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India."

• In another response in April 2015, the former minister said that only ₹47.28 crore out of the entire allocated amount had been used.

• This confirms that Sen could not have spent the entire amount until 2014.

Only a fraction of the allotted amount was used until 2015.

(Source: MEA/Altered by The Quint)

5. Former PM Manmohan Singh's Children and Nalanda University

Since its reestablishment, the University has published annual reports detailing its yearly activities and functioning until 2020 that are available on its website.

• From 2010 onwards, the last few pages of the report listed the officers and employees working with the university.

While they mention the names of Gopa Sabharwal as vice chancellor and Anjana Sharma in different positions, they have never mentioned the names of any of Singh's daughters for as long as Sen was chancellor.

They also do not mention the appointment of Navjot Lahiri, as claimed.

(Note: Swipe to view screenshots.)

List of staff in 2012.

List of staff in 2013.

List of staff in 2014.

List of staff in 2015.

Sen resigned in February 2015.

All of Singh's daughters – Upinder Singh, Daman Singh, and Amrit Singh – are accomplished professionals in their respective fields.

• None of their profiles on any credible sources mention any affiliation with Nalanda University.

• Dr Upinder Singh is a historian and professor at Ashoka University, who has also won the Infosys Prize for Social Sciences. None of them mention Nalanda University.

• Daman Singh is a writer, who has written extensively about India and her parents. She has given numerous interviews with no mention of Nalanda University.

• Amrit Singh is a professor of law at the US' Stanford University and is a fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). Again, there is no mention of Nalanda University.

6. PM Modi and Amartya Sen’s Termination as Chancellor

As per the Nalanda University Act, a chancellor, once appointed, holds their position for three years.

The Chancellor is appointed for a term of three years.

(Source: Nalanda University/Altered by The Quint)

• As Sen was appointed in 2012, his term was set to expire in 2015, when the PM Modi-led government was in power.

• However, Sen did not seek reappointment and had resigned from his position in February 2015, as per several news reports.

Sen's resignation as chancellor was widely covered by the media.

(Source: The Indian Express/Altered by The Quint)

We found the same information in a Parliament response dated 13 August 2015, when Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh had said, "Prof. Sen had publicly declared that he wanted to exclude himself from being considered for continuing as Chancellor of Nalanda University beyond July 2015."

The MEA said that Sen chose to resign.

(Source: MEA/Altered by The Quint)

The full letter that Amartya Sen wrote about what went behind him stepping down from his post was published by Scroll.in and can be read here.

Conclusion: It is evident that the claims made in the viral text message are either entirely false or are deeply misleading in nature.

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