Sondhi may challenge dismissal

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JULY 19. Even as the senior bureaucrat, Mr. K. S. Sarma, took charge as the Chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) today, his predecessor, Prof. M. L. Sondhi, was exploring legal options to challenge his removal from the post.

Though Prof. Sondhi could not be contacted, he is reported to have attributed his dismissal to the machinations of the hardliners within the Government - particularly the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) - who were upset with him for organising the Indo-Pak social scientists' meet.

Prof. Sondhi, a member of the BJP, has been having trouble with the hardliners within the Sangh Parivar and their representatives in the Council for not subscribing to their agenda. One of them, Mr. Sardindu Mukherjee, has in fact gone on record stating that Prof. Sondhi ought to have been dismissed immediately after he named a fellowship after the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The HRD Ministry, however, denied these charges and said that Prof. Sondhi's dismissal had become imperative as he had been violating the Memorandum of Association and rules of ICSSR. He has been accused of not taking the Council into confidence. Also, according to officials, Prof. Sondhi refused to explain his actions to the Ministry which is the nodal agency governing ICSSR.

While this may be so, the fact remains that Prof. Sondhi's dismissal came within days of his publicly airing his grievances against the Ministries of External Affairs, Home and HRD. On the sidelines of the Agra Summit, Prof. Sondhi had said that the three ministries had made it difficult for him to organise the Indo-Pak dialogue.

Prof. Sondhi, an advocate of Indo-Pak relations, has been complaining that the hardliners within the Government were opposed to his efforts at building bridges with social scientists across the border. He had even written to the President urging him to ensure that the saffron brigade did not disrupt the Indo- Pak dialogue that the ICSSR organised ahead of the Vajpayee- Musharraf summit.

While Prof. Sondhi appears to be determined to lock horns with the administration, the Government, it is learnt, is all set to appoint a regular Chairman for ICSSR without much delay.

``Mr. Sarma's appointment is purely temporary in nature. A regular appointment could be made within a week,'' a HRD Ministry official said.

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