Hyderabad : World Chess Champion Vishwanathan Anand did not want an honorary doctorate degree from University of Hyderabad after Central bureaucrats wondered if he was an Indian and delayed the procedures.
The muddle-headed bureaucrats in Education dept. in Delhi must be North Indian Punjabis who have not visited South India. V. Anand could have told them to their face that he was a Madrasi (that is how South Indians are recognized, but in Andhra?) and not an Indian, whatever that means.
This doubting Thomas delaying a doctorate to V. Anand, who is Khel Ratna and Padma Vi-bhushan at that, for his accomplishments, whoever he may be in bureaucracy should have been suspended, when the question was raised at a special convocation of International Congress of Mathematicians at Hyderabad on Tuesday. Aug. 24 V. Anand countered by saying he did not wait it during the Congress of Mathematicians.
The I CM’s executive organizing committee secretary Rajat Tandon said all arrangements had been made to confer Doctorate Degree honoris cause to V. Anand. He came to Hyderabad, played with 40 mathematicians at the same time defeating 38 of them and drawing with 2 of them, and went back to madras. His agent Abraham K, told Press persons that bureaucratic bugling denied a Degree at the Central University to a World Class Indian Chess player. Rajat stated that V. Anand did not want any controversies.
Anand himself told in a statement that now everybody knew he was completely an Indian. HRD (Union) Minister Kapil Sibal apologized to the World Chess Champion on the phone and requested him to accept the doctorate degree. Not only he, but several sportsmen / women in India were saddened deeply by the turn of events.
Heads of bureaucracy remained where they were, while V. Anand was hurt over his NRI position. He lives in spain too and has a house in Chennai.