Former West Bengal Governor Ananda Bose buries hatchet with Educationists’ Forum head Omprakash Mishra

After his resignation as the Governor of West Bengal C V Ananda Bose has reached out to his detractors not only in West Bengal politics but also in the State’s academic circles.

While it is public knowledge that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached out to the outgoing Governor, exchanged pleasantries and called him an “erudite person”, what is little known that the Mr. Bose has also reached to academicians particularly with whom he was not on the same page as far as appointment of Vice Chancellors of State run universities was concerned.

Dr. Bose met Professor Omprakash Mishra, former Vice Chancellor of North Bengal University and head of the WB Educationists’ Forum who along with other academicians had challenged the Governor’s decision to appoint authorized persons as Vice- Chancellors arguing that it had an adverse impact on the higher education of the State.

The Supreme Court had to intervene in the appointment of Vice Chancellors of the State run universities in West Bengal and had set up a committee headed by former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit to bring a consensus over the appointments. By the end of February 2026, appointments of all but three State- run-universities had been completed and the Supreme Court had expressed satisfaction over the issue.

Professor Mishra, who teaches International relations at Jadavpur University, said that he met the former Governor at a State-run convention Centre. “He was most polite and generous with his appreciation, It was truly an honour to say goodbye to him on the eve of his departure from West Bengal and leave behind the legal wrangling of the last few years. I wished him good health and a long life”.

Speaking to The Hindu, the academician who has been instrumental in resolving the dispute over appointment of Vice Chancellors by highlighting the issues for past three years said that Dr. Bose is an erudite person and the stand taken by the WB Educationists’ Forum in the interest of higher education of West Bengal has been vindicated.