Doctor of Letters for Prof Swaminathan welcomed

Former senate members of the University of Mumbai have welcomed the decision of the university to confer a Doctor of Letters (DLitt) to Prof M.S. Swaminathan, the architect of the Green Revolution in India but have said that the university should also comply with the decision of the senate to confer the degree to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, which was approved by the senate in 2013. MU authorities have said that the D Litt will be conferred upon Prof Swaminathan in a special Convocation ceremony that will be held in May this year.

Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, vice-chancellor of MU while sharing details of the university budget 2016-17 on Monday had disclosed that the senate had approved the decision to confer the D Litt degree on Prof Swaminathan due to the role he played in bringing about the Green Revolution in India. “The university in its 160-year existence has only conferred the degree to 21 personalities as it means the university feels proud to be associated with such personalities. Prof Swaminathan is one of the three personalities in India who holds pride of place and hence MU feels conferring a DLitt to him will be a honour for the institution too,” said Dr Deshmukh.

Referring to Dr Deshmukh’s announcement former senate member, Sudhakar Tamboli owing allegiance to the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) said, “We are not against the DLitt to be conferred on Prof Swaminathan, but we want to know why the university has failed to implement the decision of the senate to confer honorary degrees to Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar and Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari.”

In 2013, former vice-chancellor Dr Rajan Welukar during a similar budgetary meeting had announced that the university would confer honorary degrees to both Mr Tendulkar and Mr Dharmadhikari for their superlative achievements in the cricket and judicial arena. However, the announcement did not translate into any action till date, prompting the MNVS to take it up aggressively. “If the university does not fulfil the former senate’s decision, MNVS might have to take an offensive stand against the proposed Convocation ceremony,” said Mr Tamboli.