Anand hurt, turns down doctorate
Irked by a callous bureaucratic poser on whether he was Indian or not, the world chess champion Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday refused the degree of doctor of philosophy (honoris causa) offered by University of Hyderabad.
Ever the gentlemen, he merely said, “I am in Hyderabad to play against the mathematicians and to enjoy the Mathematical Congress. Let’s leave it at that.” But it was quite evident that Anand was hurt by the way the Union ministry of human resources development questioned his nationality, forgetting how he did the country proud many a time. The doctorate was scheduled to be awarded on Tuesday night at the International Congress of Mathematicians, but the event had to be postponed following the controversy.
Though the Union HRD minster, Mr Kapil Sibal, tried to make amends by telephoning Anand and requesting him to accept the doctorate, the Indian Grandmaster was not in the mood to receive the honour on Tuesday night.
“Anand has done India proud and we should be proud of those who climb the heights of global excellence,” Mr Sibal said, in an obvious attempt at damage control.
Sources said the chess champ may decide on a future date to accept the award. The University of Hyderabad had sent a proposal to the Union HRD ministry on August 18 seeking clearance for the award of honourary doctorate to Anand, along with renowned mathematician, Mr David Mumford, of Harvard University.
But officials in the ministry kept the file pending wondering whether the Grandmaster was an Indian or Spanish national. Anand has been staying in Spain for the past six years but continues to hold the Indian citizenship.
“I have always played under the Indian flag,” said Anand, before taking up a chess game simultaneously with 40 mathematicians from around the world. “I hold an Indian passport right from the time I took my first overseas trip. I do not understand the issue.”
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Sibal: Anand will accept the degree
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
Aug. 24: Amidst swirling charges of bureaucratic red-tape which saw his ministry reportedly questioning the chess maestro’s citizenship, Union minister of human resource development, Kapil Sibal denied that Vishwanathan Anand’s nationality was ever questioned by the ministry.
The chess GM has been living in Spain for many years now but retains his Indian passport. Asked about the nationality issue, Mr Sibal said, “There is no question of nationality. Instead, he attributed the present snafu to “procedural issues” and “procedural delays” with the result that “clearances take time”.
He also said that he apologised to the chess grandmaster and that Anand has agreed to accept the honorary degree which will be conferred at a convenient time.
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