Election Commission officials on Wednesday visited Pratichi, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s ancestral home in Santiniketan, and served an SIR hearing notice over a “logical discrepancy” in enumeration form entries.

According to the EC, the notice was issued as the age difference between Amartya Sen and his mother Amita Sen, as calculated from data entries, was found to be less than 15 years.

Although Amartya Sen has been living in the US for decades, he is an Indian citizen. This newspaper could not confirm who filled up the enumeration form.

Amartya Sen’s cousin, Shantabhanu Sen, received the notice on behalf of the economist, who is abroad. “I received the notice on behalf of my cousin, Amartya Sen. He has cast his vote many times. I think it has been sent to harass him,” Shantabhanu Sen said.

The notice, written in Bengali, directs Amartya Sen to be present for a hearing at his Santiniketan home on January 16 with valid documents, as notified by the EC, to ensure that his name features in the final electoral roll, scheduled to be published on February 14.

“According to your declaration, the difference between your age and that of your father/ mother is less than 15 years, which is not usually expected,” the notice says, explaining the reason for the hearing.

Relatives and family friends of Amartya Sen said they could not understand the logic behind serving a notice on him under the “logical discrepancy” category.

In the 2002 electoral roll, viewed by this newspaper, Amita Sen’s age is recorded as 88. Amartya Sen’s age, as mentioned in the post-SIR draft electoral roll of 2025, is 92. This means he was 69 in 2002. The age difference then works out to 19 years.

Gitikantha Majumdar, a family friend of Amartya Sen, said: “As Prof. Sen has been served a notice, we will follow all formalities as per Election Commission norms. However, we want to know on the basis of which document the Election Commission concluded that the age difference between Prof. Sen and his mother is less than 15 years.”

Amartya Sen’s cousin Shantabhanu Sen shows the SIR notice served on the Nobel laureate in Santiniketan on Wednesday.  Picture by Amarnath Dutta

Majumdar added: “The commission should issue a clarification.”

A source said Amartya Sen had mapped his name with his mother, who is on the 2002 electoral roll. Amita Sen, popularly known in Santiniketan as Ashram Kanya, is the daughter of Kshitimohan Sen, a scholar, close associate of Rabindranath Tagore and one of the key figures of the effort to shape Visva-Bharati. Amita Sen passed away in 2005.

Serving a notice on Amartya Sen, who was named by Tagore, has sparked anger among long-time residents of Santiniketan, including members of the bard’s family.

“It is extremely shameful that the Election Commission is asking Amartya Sen to be present for a hearing, and maybe submit documents, to decide whether his name will feature in the electoral rolls. There are no words to condemn this move. It shows how eminent people from Bengal are being harassed. If someone like Amartya Sen faces such humiliation, one can imagine the plight of poor people living in remote areas,” Supriya Tagore, a descendant of the Tagore family, told The Telegraph.

This newspaper got in touch with EC officials with queries on the age discrepancy claim. Bolpur sub-divisional officer Animesh Kanti Manna, who is also the electoral registration officer (ERO) of Bolpur, neither took calls nor responded to a text message. Booth-level officer (BLO) Sambarta Mukherjee and assistant ERO Taniya Roy, who visited Pratichi to deliver the SIR notice, also declined
to comment.

A senior EC official said
notices citing “logical discrepancies” were being issued based on data entered into
the software. “However, the matter related to this particular case will be looked into,” the official said on condition
of anonymity.

Another senior official said that since Amartya Sen is above 85, he would not be required to visit the hearing centre and that the hearing would be conducted at his home.

“Any voter facing such an issue would have to submit any one of the 11 documents specified by the Election Commission,” the official added.

A family friend said an EC official had told those concerned that on January 16, Amartya Sen may not be required to be physically present and that any one of the 11 documents can be furnished before visiting officials by
any relative.

“It is impossible for Prof. Sen to visit Santiniketan for the hearing. An official said that it would be enough if someone from the family submits the document during the hearing on January 16,” the family friend said.

Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who on Tuesday drew attention to the impending SIR notice, on Wednesday once again accused the EC and the BJP of humiliating the Nobel laureate who has brought global recognition to the country.

“An SIR notice has been sent to Amartya Sen, one of the eminent economists of the country and a Nobel Prize winner. In the BJP’s eyes, Amartya Sen is a ghuspetiya (infiltrator),” Abhishek said.

Union minister and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar insinuated without any basis that Amartya Sen may not be an Indian citizen.

“The question is how does Amartya Sen’s name feature in the electoral roll. I may be wrong, but to my knowledge, Amartya Sen is an American citizen. If that is the case, his name should not appear in the electoral roll and should be removed. However, I may be mistaken,” Majumdar said.