Taking sex a degree too far 

There appear to be few takers for a claim by former Labour Party deputy leader Harriet Harman that the late Indian academic, Prof. T.V. Satyamurthy, offered her a good degree if she would sleep with him when she was an undergraduate studying politics at York University in the 1970s.

Harman, now 66, rejected the offer from her "repulsive" lecturer - she got a 2:1 anyway.

The allegation, in Harman's memoirs, A Woman's Work, due to be published next week, has had a sceptical reaction from Daily Mail readers.

Some dismissed it as "a publicity stunt" aimed at boosting sales.

A typical reaction was: "It's disgusting to smear a man's reputation like that. He's not here to defend himself and there's no evidence other than the word of a politician. So probably not true."

In 1982, aged 32, the year Harman became an MP in South London, she married Jack Dromey, a trade union leader. The couple have two sons and a daughter. In government, Harman served as minister for women and equality.

The Mail pointed out: "Madras-born Professor Satyamurthy came to the UK in 1967 having studied at the Banaras Hindu University and worked as a researcher in the US and Singapore." It also said, "Professor Satyamurthy died in 1998 aged 68 following a distinguished career as an academic and 30 years of teaching at York. At the time of the allegation, he would have had a wife, as he married Carole Methven in 1963 and the couple went on to have one daughter."

Now I happen to know someone who studied under Satyamurthy and thought the world of him: "He was strict and set high standards. His criticisms were mingled with deep sensitivity... He is sadly missed but his thoughts and human touch will live on for many of us."

UN role

Ashok Amritraj, the Los Angeles-based movie mogul, called me from Chennai (where his mother has just celebrated her 90th birthday) to say that he has just been appointed “the UN in India goodwill ambassador for Sustainable Development Goals” — apparently he is the first ambassador for the UN in India.

Ashok - he has made over a hundred movies bringing in revenues exceeding $2 billion - and his elder brothers, Anand and Vijay, all played tennis at Wimbledon.

He travels to India - "a very important part of my life" - at least four times a year, anyway, and tells me he is committed to the UN assignment which he calls "a tremendous opportunity to serve the country of my birth".

Since at this time of the year, Ashok and I always discuss the Oscars, he offered his predictions: "Seems like La La Land has all the momentum and should win the major awards. Enjoyed seeing my two stars from 99 Homes get nominated for Best Supporting Actor: Andrew Garfield for Hacksaw Ridge and Michael Shannon for Nocturnal Animals. I wish that the little kid (Sunny Pawar) from Lion had also been nominated - his heart-wrenching performance shows the calibre of talent in India. They should be encouraged in a major way to go international."

Back in 2009, Ashok had forecast, " Slumdog Millionaire will sweep" - and he was not too far off the mark.

Gone girl 

Vogue is considered "the bible of the fashion industry" which explains why Alexandra Shulman's announcement last week that she is to resign as editor Vogue UK after 25 years in the job was treated as a major news development.

Shulman, who last year organised celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the magazine - Princess William's wife, Kate, was on the cover - said she "will now look forward into a different future".

She put cocaine-consuming supermodel Kate Moss on the cover 30 times. One hopes the new editor projects British Indian girls such as Neelam Gill so as to make Vogue more relevant to contemporary British society.

Also departing is the man who appointed Shulman - Nicholas Coleridge as president of Condé Nast International and managing director of Condé Nast Britain, publishers of Vogue .

For years I would ask him about an Indian franchise - finally, Vogue India was launched in 2007.

Helping children

London and Dubai-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Nirmal Sethia, who has an old tea business in Calcutta, reveals he wants to establish a shelter for autistic children in the city in memory of his late wife, Chitra.

"The only thing I ask for is the government provide security so that the children are not kidnapped by traffickers," he says.

That's not much to ask for, surely.

In the UK, incidentally, the Nirmal Sethia Foundation has ploughed millions into robotic surgery and autistic children.

Tittle tattle

Private Eye is said to be planning a cover with Donald Trump eyeing Theresa May meaningfully. Such an irreverent magazine simply would not be permitted in the "world's largest democracy".